Amtrak to expand service between New York City and Albany
Amtrak will be adding two new weekday trains to its busy schedule between New York City and Albany starting Dec. 5, offering more options to passengers traveling to either destination or to points between in the Hudson Valley.
The Empire State Passengers Association announced the news in a press release on Friday, and Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams confirmed it to the Times Union on Tuesday. The new departures will bring the total number of weekday round-trip trains to 12, one fewer than Amtrak’s pre-COVID schedule for the route.
According to the schedule, a new New York City-bound train will depart Albany-Rensselaer station at 11:10 a.m. Sunday through Friday, arriving in Hudson at 11:30 a.m., Rhinecliff at 11:54 a.m. and Poughkeepsie at 12:10 p.m., before terminating at Penn Station at 1:45 p.m.
The other new southbound train will leave Albany-Renssalaer at 5:30 p.m. and get to Hudson at 5:53 p.m., Rhinecliff at 6:15 p.m. and Poughkeepsie at 6:30 p.m. before reaching New York City at 8:05 p.m. This train will reduce an existing three-hour southbound service gap for travel between the Hudson Valley and New York City.
Northbound, there’s a new late-morning train that will depart Penn Station’s Moynihan Train Hall at 8:15 a.m. and reach Poughkeepsie at 9:45 a.m., Rhinecliff at 10:01 a.m. and Hudson at 10:21 a.m. The last stop will be at the Albany-Rensselaer station at 10:47 a.m.
The other new northbound train departs New York City at 3:15 p.m. with stops in Poughkeepsie at 4:40 p.m., Rhinceliff at 4:55 p.m. and Hudson at 5:15 p.m., before terminating at Albany at 5:45 p.m.
Tickets for the new trains are available for purchase now on Amtrak’s website and app, Abrams said.
“The Empire State Passengers Association applauds the New York State Department of Transportation and Amtrak’s decision to schedule this additional service in the Hudson Valley to meet customer demand, reduce frequent sellouts on trains traveling beyond Albany and shrink existing three-hour gaps in train service,” said Steve Strauss, the executive director of the nonprofit rail advocacy organization.
All Amtrak service in New York state is funded by the state Department of Transportation except for the Lake Shore Limited, a federally supported long-distance train that runs through the region on its route between Boston and Chicago.
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