February 2, 2026

Media Kit photo from press event on October 20, 2025 at the Rensselaer for the announcement of the now canceled extenstion of Metro-North service to Albany. Amtrak's going work on the rebuilding of the East River Tunnels had led to curtailment of Amtrak's passenger rail service (supported by the State of New York) between Albany and Penn Station.

---

“When Amtrak proposed to significantly reduce Empire Service trips for several years to accommodate the East River Tunnel project, I demanded better. That’s why today, I’m proud to announce that Amtrak will be restoring all suspended or combined Empire Service trains between New York Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer beginning in early March.

Nearly three million New Yorkers rely on this state-supported train to travel between New York City, the Hudson Valley, and the Capital Region each year. I have been clear that our commuters cannot suffer disproportionately for regional construction projects and am glad Amtrak has heeded my call and committed to running full service for the duration of the project and beyond. We will soon be able to offer more Empire Service capacity than existed even before the tunnel work began last spring and run full service far earlier than anticipated, which are big wins for riders.

At the same time, I have felt the enthusiasm that met our announcement to run Metro-North's high-quality service between Albany and Grand Central as a mitigation for reduced Amtrak service. With the full restoration of Empire Service, Amtrak has notified New York State and the MTA that it will no longer sanction temporary Metro-North service to Albany at this time. I remain fully committed to short and long-term proposals to bring better transit - including expanded Metro-North service if the demand exists - beyond Poughkeepsie and into the rest of the Hudson Valley and Capital Region. New Yorkers rely on high quality rail transit like no other state, and I will always fight to save commuters time and to make service better."

— Statement from Governor Kathy Hochul | January 27, 2026

---

Fact Checking the proposed Metro North service between New York’s Grand Central Terminal and Albany-Rensselaer — that will NOT be starting, as previously announced.

Empire State Passengers Association – January 30, 2026

---

• The proposed Metro North service would have been ONE daily mid-morning northbound trip to Albany-Rensselaer, returning in the afternoon to Grand Central. It was never clearly defined but there would have been a very limited number of stops in Metro North territory, in addition to stops at Rhinecliff, Hudson and Albany.

• The train would have been staffed and operated by Metro North crews. This would have required the Metro North crews to be ‘qualified’ (i.e. trained) on the Amtrak-controlled route north of Poughkeepsie.

• The train would have simply reversed direction in Albany. No switching, servicing or other maintenance would have occurred at Albany.

• Only Metro North fares would have been accepted on the train and Metro North ticket machines would have presumably been installed at Rhinecliff, Hudson & Albany. The Grand Central to Albany fare was to be ~$38 each way, but all other intermediate fare & ticketing details were never released.

• Under a long-term lease with CSX (which was originally brokered by New York State) Amtrak operates, dispatches and maintains the Hudson Valley line from just north of Poughkeepsie to Albany (and west to Schenectady). CSX retains the ownership of the real property. New York State reimburses Amtrak for the cost of maintaining and operating this leased line.

• According to the terms of the CSX/Amtrak lease, CSX had to provide permission for the Metro North train to use the leased line. CSX had apparently agreed to this.

• There are two separate groups of unions representing Amtrak and Metro North train operating employees. The contract terms, work rules and pay scales of the separate collective bargaining agreements are significantly different between Amtrak and Metro North.

• Per union work rules only Metro North employees can operate Metro North train equipment, so it was not possible for Amtrak employees to operate the Metro North train equipment at any time or location.

• It has been reported that Amtrak unionized employees were concerned that if Metro North employees were ‘qualified’ to operate north of Poughkeepsie it could have eventually led to the loss of Amtrak employee positions and to the potential degradation of their collective bargaining agreement terms.

• The potential for labor unrest may have influenced the decision-making process by Amtrak and New York State to not pursue the Metro North train operation option at this time.

Additional Information - https://bit.ly/4qJNKUs

---

New Full Service Timetable

---

Full resumption of Hudson Valley service starts Monday, March 16, 2026. The revised & expanded schedules are now available in Amtrak's reservation system, with the exception of the expected first southbound train (#230) from Albany-Rensselaer to New York. The exact schedule for this train is pending, but it anticipated that it will depart Albany at approximately 5:00am & arrive at New York at approximately 7:30am.

Note: All trains in the revised & expanded schedules effective March 16, 2026 will be operating on a daily basis, seven days a week!

And of particular interest to those attending evening shows; sporting events and other engagements in New York City, the last northbound train will departing at 11:25pm seven days a week!

PDF Version - https://bit.ly/3LIHrl3