Empire State Corridor Service Restored, Improved (UPDATED, 1/28)

Supported by New York State via the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the Empire Service is an “economic engine” up and down the Hudson River, carrying two million riders annually and achieving record-high ridership in 2024. Following the suspension of three daily Amtrak Empire Service roundtrips, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was tasked with developing potential solutions “leveraging its existing Metro-North Railroad service as a mitigation for affected customers.” The MTA is now advancing a plan with partners to run Metro-North service between Albany and Grand Central, starting with one daily round-trip in the Spring of 2026. In addition, Amtrak has committed to restoring one daily round-trip previously suspended between New York City and Albany on Dec. 1.

“Extending Metro-North’s safe, reliable service to Albany closes a critical gap in regional transit by restoring capacity and connecting New York City and Hudson Valley communities with the high-quality service our customers expect,” said Metro-North President Justin Vonashek.

“New York State residents and visitors’ passion and patience are paying off, as additional, affordable, and improved train service between New York City and Albany is on its way,” added Amtrak President Roger Harris. “Thanks to Governor Hochul for her leadership and commitment to New York State, and NYSDOT and MTA for their partnership in helping meet the high demand of train service we have throughout the state.”

To provide mitigation for rail commuters affected by the suspension of Amtrak service during the rehabilitation of the East River Tunnel, Governor Kathy Hochul challenged the MTA and Metro-North Railroad “to develop a plan to run Hudson Line service beyond Poughkeepsie to connect Grand Central Terminal with Albany-Rensselaer Station.” Metro-North is now advancing a plan to commence this service in early spring of 2026, with non-passenger test trains set to run later this year.

The planned schedule, MTA says, “will fill in gaps left by Amtrak service that was suspended earlier this year,” with the Grand Central to Albany train departing at mid-morning and the Albany-Rensselaer to Grand Central train departing in the afternoon and arriving at Grand Central in time for evening events in New York City. This service would be the first time Metro-North has run between New York City and New York’s Capital Region, according to the agency. Metro-North’s predecessor on the Hudson Line, the New York Central Railroad, previously ran service between Grand Central and Albany until 1967, including on the 20th Century Limited train to Chicago.

This additional service, MTA says, “builds on the excellent service Metro-North has provided in 2025.” On-time performance on the railroad is at 97.9%. Customer satisfaction is at a near-record high of 89%. Ridership has climbed all year, reaching 94.5% on weekends and 86.4% of weekday pre-pandemic levels. In September, an average of 233,632 customers rode Metro-North on weekdays, the highest daily average since the pandemic. In October, Metro-North officially launched improved super-express service on the Hudson Line between Poughkeepsie and Grand Central, with trips taking less than 90 minutes. In September, the MTA debuted the first new Siemens Charger locomotives on the Hudson line, which, the agency says, “will bring more horsepower, improved reliability, and reduced emissions to the railroad.”

Following the cancellation or consolidation of three weekday round trips between Albany and New York Penn Station earlier this year to accommodate Amtrak repairs to the East River Tunnels in New York City, Gov. Hochul “sought the restoration of as much rail service as possible along the corridor.” In support of these efforts, Amtrak says it will be restoring one round trip between Albany and Penn Station on Dec. 1. Amtrak has also committed to a first-of-its-kind price cap on trips between Albany and New York City, with coach seats capped at $99.

In May 2025, in coordination with NYSDOT and other partners, Amtrak began operating a reduced Empire Service schedule to accommodate planned work to the East River Tunnels, which were damaged by Superstorm Sandy and are in urgent need of repair. Amtrak service between Albany-Rensselaer and Penn Station was reduced with the suspension of three trips in each direction.

Thanks to joint efforts by the State of New York and Amtrak, one additional Amtrak trip in each direction between Penn Station and Albany-Rensselaer will be restored starting Dec.1, 2025, the company said. Train 235 which departs Penn Station at 3:15 pm, and Train 238 which departs Albany-Rensselaer at 12:10 pm, will both be resumed.

The reduced service starting this May caused fewer available tickets to be sold at higher prices, with some Coach Class tickets reaching $109 between Albany and Penn Station. To ensure that commuters were not adversely affected by Amtrak’s tunnel rehabilitation project, New York State and Amtrak coordinated on a first-of-its-kind fare cap of $99 on coach seats on all Empire Service trains, bringing down the maximum ticket price by nearly 10%. To provide additional affordable fares, Metro-North fares are anticipated to be competitive with the low end of existing Amtrak fares between Albany and New York City.

Amtrak will also restore direct rail service between Albany-Rensselaer and Boston on the Lake Shore Limited on Dec. 1, which is currently running with a temporary bus service. This restoration will reconnect rail service between Albany and Massachusetts for the more than 80,000 Lake Shore Limited riders who use the station.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul provided the following statement:

“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.”