Amtrak improvements on deck for Rhinecliff, Vermont service
On the verge of its 50th anniversary, the outlook for Amtrak has brightened considerably.
The passenger railroad has received federal support to restore daily service on a dozen long-distance routes, order new locomotives and passenger cars, and extend services on existing routes, members of the rail advocacy group Empire State Passengers Association (ESPA) were told at their annual meeting this past weekend.
Because of the pandemic, the meeting was held virtually.
Among the improvements:
The Ethan Allen Express between New York City and Rutland via Albany will be extended to Middlebury and Burlington, Vt., in early 2022, according to Lucas Irvine, road foreman of engines for Amtrak’s Empire Corridor. Construction of a tunnel through downtown Middlebury and other track and platform work are expected to be completed during this year’s construction season, said Christopher Parker, executive director of the Vermont Rail Action Network.
A new high-level platform, accessible bathrooms, repairs to the station and upgrades to the ticket counter, and two new elevators are among the improvements planned at the Rhinecliff rail station along the busy AlbanyNew York City rail corridor, said Derrick James, senior manager/government affairs for Amtrak. Track improvements will be done during the 2022 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2021, with station improvements in fiscal year 2023.
The ticket counter at the Rensselaer station will be relocated and work to improve the traffic flow to the Rensselaer boarding platforms also is planned. No time frame was given for that work.
Less progress has been made on restoring local services curtailed by the pandemic. While the Lake Shore Limited, which serves Chicago, Boston and New York City from Albany, will resume daily service at the end of May, it’s not clear when the borders to Vermont and Canada will reopen.
Vermont’s governor closed the border at the start of the pandemic to prevent the spread of COVID-19 via the Ethan Allen Express, which originates in New York City, a coronavirus hot spot at the time. The Canadian border, meanwhile, has been closed to the Montrealbound Adirondack since the pandemic.
Both trains now go no farther north than Albany.
When the Ethan Allen Express is extended to Burlington, schedule times will likely change, something that ESPA President Gary Prophet said has raised some concerns on the New York side of the border.
Amtrak officials had looked at operating the Adirondack, which pre-pandemic had offered daily service to and from Montreal, as far north as Plattsburgh, but determined that most of the passengers north of Albany were continuing to Montreal, not to intermediate stops.
And New York’s highspeed rail program — intended to speed trains west of Schenectady, where they now travel no faster than 79 mph — has faced delays. Bruce Becker, the past president of the passengers’ association, said he attended the first stakeholders’ meeting as work on the project’s environmental impact study got under way. That meeting, he added, was 11 years ago.
“The problem we have is getting projects started,” observed State Sen. Tim Kennedy, who represents the Buffalo area and chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. “The fact we’ve waited 11 years is mindnumbing. We need to start holding people accountable.”
“We would encourage the (state) Department of Transportation to have a little more transparency on where they are,” added Becker.
New York state did build a number of new stations along the Empire Corridor, including in Schenectady, Rochester, Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
But while new locomotives and passenger cars are being ordered to upgrade state-supported services in other parts of the country, New York hasn’t yet committed to new equipment, although it’s expected to add to an existing order placed by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority for new so-called dual-mode locomotives. Those locomotives can operate in the tunnels leading to Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station using emissions-free electric power instead of diesel power.
Meanwhile, new Siemens passenger coaches are being introduced on Amtrak routes out of Chicago, replacing the Amfleet I cars that in many cases are more than four decades old. The older Amfleet cars continue to operate out of Albany.
While federal rules require states to file updated rail plans every four years, the New York plan on the state DOT’s website is dated 2009.
Amtrak also is exploring ways to reach new markets that weren’t part of the original route system that began operating May 1, 1971. It is seeking $25 billion over five years to introduce new service to such rapidly growing city pairs as Los Angeles to Phoenix and Tucson, Atlanta to Charlotte and Atlanta to Nashville, as well as new service to Columbus and Cincinnati from Cleveland.
“Airline consolidation has led to less service in places like Cleveland, Cincinnati and St. Louis,” said James, the Amtrak government affairs manager. United reduced service at Cleveland after merging with Continental, while Delta reduced service at its Cincinnati hub and American cut service at St. Louis after acquiring TWA.