"Adirondack" Line as a commuter service? Saratoga Springs to Albany

https://foothillsbusinessdaily.com/amtr ... t-in-time/

They should probably have titled this as "Commuter train along the Adirondack route?"

Commuting opportunities eyed as train makes its way to SpaCity.

“Preferred Alternative 90B,” an environmental impact study of the train system, was accepted last month by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Transportation along with the Federal Railroad Administration.

Among many changes, it calls for the addition of two more trains along the New York City to Saratoga Springs route in the next three years.

The state funds these changes and contracts with Amtrak to operate them.
...
He, too, was looking toward the two new trains and said it would be best if the trains could begin their days in Saratoga Springs and deliver commuters to Albany during the morning rush hour. He cited a recent study that said the train can reach the capital faster than a car since the cars bottleneck and slow down at the Twin Bridges over the Mohawk River between Saratoga and Albany counties.

He said with little or no tweaking, the system could deliver passengers in the afternoon from the Albany/Rensselaer or Schenectady stations to Saratoga Springs, but the morning commute is nonexistent. However, officials have been talking about this for decades, he said.
...

The last time some sort of commuter service was contemplated from north of the Mohawk river to Albany it ended up failing because rather than "Ok, let's use the existing Amtrak route" one of the local politicians insisted that it follow the CSX (?) route up through Watervliet. Now arguably, that might have made a slightly better route, it failed due to "perfect is the enemy of the good." I think we'd have all been better off if they had gone with the original routing and then later looked at adding the 2nd.

I honestly, hope something like this does work without too many fingers in the pie.

Honestly, I think given the current scheduling, Albany would be a decent location for some commuter service. A train or two from Hudson or points south feeding into Albany in the morning should work too.

WPTZ, the Plattsburgh NY NBC affiliate, referred to the Adirondack as a "commuter train" on their "return to service" story the other night.

The only issue I see with this is getting people across the river to the state offices, etc. There would have to be some serious timetabling with CDTA to connect trains to the plaza via bus.

My fiance who works on the plaza says years ago there was talk of a cable car across the river, and my father-in-law who's lived in Renssalaer/Castleton his entire life once told me there was a pedestrian walkway on the old Maiden Lane Bridge before it was torn down.

I think it's a great idea and a fine vision of what the future could be.

The line to Saratoga through Watervliet is not CSX, its CP ex D&H. The Amtrak line to Saratoga passes right next to the uptown Albany NYS campus and of course right through downtown Albany. No reason why they couldn't both have service at some point.

No need to go all the way to Rensselaer just to come back across the river on a bus. Build 2 new stations, one next to I-90 somewhere between the Fuller Rd. and Central Ave. overpasses.

The other one would be Central Warehouse of course.

Yes, using both lines (current and CP, thanks for the reminder) and new stations simply makes too much sense.

So it will never happen.

That said, I do think a station near SUNYA/NYS Office complex makes a lot of sense, even without commuters adding that would be a reasonable stop for some trains for SUNYA students. With a footbridge and shuttle service.

Amtrak is not in the business of providing commuter train services, it is in the business of providing intercity services.
An excellent example of a commuter service provided by Amtrak is Maine's subsidized Downeaster trains, with morning trains into Boston and afternoon trains leaving Boston. The key being it is subsidized by Maine.
Before the State should step in and subsidize more trains, is there an existing bus service and how busy is it? Is there are real demand for it that the State should try to supply a solution. I have not read of overcrowded buses. so I question if a commuter train service is actually needed.

Trailways runs about 4 or 5 buses in each direction a day but the timetable isn't great, and often gets snagged in traffic

electricron wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 1:47 am Amtrak is not in the business of providing commuter train services, it is in the business of providing intercity services.
An excellent example of a commuter service provided by Amtrak is Maine's subsidized Downeaster trains, with morning trains into Boston and afternoon trains leaving Boston. The key being it is subsidized by Maine.
Before the State should step in and subsidize more trains, is there an existing bus service and how busy is it? Is there are real demand for it that the State should try to supply a solution. I have not read of overcrowded buses. so I question if a commuter train service is actually needed.

You got to admit, it's a good side hussle Amtrak's doing for commuter rail. MARC's Penn Line is operated by Amtrak using MARC equipment and dedicated staff. Yes, Maryland pays for it, but as you say, that's the key.

electricron wrote: ↑Mon May 15, 2023 1:47 am Amtrak is not in the business of providing commuter train services, it is in the business of providing intercity services.

Clockers were commuter service (in fact most passengers were NJT weekly/monthly commuters).
Keystone have commuter traffic as well, along with Empire Corridor south of Albany and the California routes.
The Hiawatha is really a commuter route (shorter than the Port Jervis Line or Montauk Branch).

Many routes, including selected stations on the Northeast Regional offer commuter passes.

The (Renneselear) Albany train station seems to have poor connection with intercity bus service. When I looked last year it was only served by two local buses that barely made it past the city line. Start with integrated intermodal passenger service between the local transit agency, the long distance buses and Amtrak. I-87 is a very busy highway so I am sure there would be some demand for passenger train service especially at rush hour. Fill in with off-peak bus service on the same route.

Amtrak has states over the barrel because only they can compel the freight railroads to allow passenger service on lines not owned by states or Amtrak, and only they have liability insurance agreements. See the Hoosier State for example of what happens when you try to buck Amtrak.

BandA wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2023 8:43 am The (Renneselear) Albany train station seems to have poor connection with intercity bus service. When I looked last year it was only served by two local buses that barely made it past the city line. Start with integrated intermodal passenger service between the local transit agency, the long distance buses and Amtrak. I-87 is a very busy highway so I am sure there would be some demand for passenger train service especially at rush hour. Fill in with off-peak bus service on the same route.

This is quite the case dating back to 1998. I think me going from the train station to the hotel that a certain convention was at required me grabbing the hotel's transportation or a shared ride service. But then, I had to switch trains in NYC.

Why not use the former Union Station? Is this possible?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Sta ... _New_York)

Doubtful, the only tracks left are CP's Bull Run, which are in the median of 787. There'd be no easy way to get passenger service there without some serious reconstruction.

"The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) is the owner and operator of the Rensselaer Rail Station in Rensselaer, New York. The station opened in September, 2002" Appears to be right next to I-787 interchange. Megabus appears to be two blocks away, albeit with negative reviews. So new station is not necessary to make it connected.