Governor Kathy Hochul, Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek and Amtrak President Roger Harris announced that New York State has secured a series of improvements to rail service on the Empire Service Corridor between Albany and New York City. Supported by New York State via the Department of Transportation, 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 round-trips, Governor Hochul tasked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to develop 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 December 1.

To provide mitigation for rail commuters affected by the suspension of Amtrak service during the rehabilitation of East River Tunnel, Governor 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 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. 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 iconic 20th Century Limited train to Chicago.

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, Governor Hochul sought the restoration of as much rail service as possible along the corridor. In support of these efforts, Amtrak will be restoring one round trip between Albany and Penn Station on December 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.

-via Press Release