Amtrak leases Empire Corridor from CSX
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAmtrak has reached agreement with CSX Corp. to lease roughly 100 miles of the Empire Corridor between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady, N.Y., to take effect early next year.
A CSX spokesman said the agreement would enable Amtrak to enhance service on the route between Albany/Rennselaer and New York City, while "ensuring vital freight rail service in the area." Most CSX traffic between metropolitan New York and upstate moves on CSX’s main line west of the Hudson River.
Amtrak Vice President, Policy and Development Stephen Gardner said, "Amtrak is very pleased to be partnering with CSX and New York State to bring about this historic change for the Hudson Line Rail Corridor.” He added, "This arrangement will enable all parties to move forward on implementing almost $200 million in high speed rail projects along the line which will lead to faster, more frequent and more reliable service. These improvements will help make the rail line an even more valuable transportation asset for all of New York’s citizens.”
Amtrak runs 28 passenger trains a day between New York and Schenectady, while CSX operates fewer than five freight trains along the route, which lies east of the Hudson River. South of Poughkeepsie, Metro-North Railroad controls the right-of-way, dubbed the Hudson Line, with Amtrak traffic merging or diverging at Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, spanning the namesake waterway dividing the Bronx and Manhattan, to access Amtrak-owned right-of-way in Manhattan en route to Penn Station.
After at least two decades of delay and false starts, plans are slowly moving forward to double-track the route between Schenectady and Albany/Rennselaer Station, and add a fourth track at Albany/Rennselaer Station.
