NEW YORK CITY — Inbound Amtrak Albany-to-Grand Central Terminal Train No. 242 is passing through Marble Hill in the Bronx at 4:55 p.m. on July 26, 2017, as one of three Monday through Friday round trips from Albany, due to track work reconstruction at New York Penn Station. Led by non-dual power mode P42DC No. 114 on the south end, and tailed by P32AC-DM dual mode No. 701, these two engines insure a tight 32-minute turnaround at Grand Central Terminal.
These Empire Service trains, the first regularly scheduled Amtrak arrivals and departures at Grand Central since April 1991, started in early July and are supposed to stop in early September.
This should be kept permanent as it provides a handy option for Amtraks trains operating into New England
as well as upstate New York. For Amtrak to depend just on Penn Station is not a very good or wise way to run
trains. When one looks at the way New York city moves plus the geography of the city as well as the Northeast Corridor it makes very good sense to have two train terminals.. Penn Station for trains going south and west and
Grand Central for trains going north into New England and Canada as well as upstate New York and now that Grand Central is being enlarged to accommodate LIRR trains, it can easily have the speace now to handle Amtrak trains. If you need examples of a city with two railroad terminals, just look overseas at London and Paris
and even here in Boston. In the golden age of passenger train travel, Chiicago had no less then 6 train terminals to handle the load of ppassengers and trains arriving and departing the city. I would als suggest that a rail link be built between Penn Station and Grand Central to facilitate both passengers and equipment moves between both
stations. Boston had such a connection betwwen both North and South Stations. A big city like New York needs to have more than one railroad terminal to handle intercity passenger train travel.
Joseph C Markfelder
As a former New Yorker, I can tell you that the business market from upper NY State (Albany) and New England was always to GCT. GCT is within walking distance of midtown business and shopping and it’s easier to find a cab at GCT than Penn. If Amtrak is smart, they would upgrade the Empire Service trains to GCT with refurbished cars, café food service, and a CLUB CAR! and charge a modest surcharge for this business oriented service and advertise in the NY Times and Wall Street Journal. As to New England, run several inland trips from Boston and Springfield to GCT with club service and, once the new Acelas are produced, equipment them with NYC-style third rail shoes to permit operation to either GCT or Penn Station. Some thought should be given to electrifying (w/ catenary) the Springfield line.
On a recent trip into GCT I stopped at the GCT stationmaster’s office to inquire how the operation was progressing. He did mention that the operation was without problems and that there have been requests that the service continue. It is proving popular even though the most popular trains are still going into Penn.
Sorry folks, Marbke Hikk is not in the Bronx. It is part of Manhattan. The channel of the Harlem River was altered many years ago, but Manhattan kept Marbke Hill even though it is now on the Bronx side of the river. The Bronx would like to have it, but Manhattan will not give up Marbke Hil!
Last Wensday I rode down from Albany-Rensselaer to GCT, first time visit, it was great. I walked from GCT to Penn Station with a stop at the Empire State Building (two hour line!), and return via Rockefeller Center and Park Ave, checking out the Waldorf-Astoria and former New York Central Building. In GCT the Station Master’s Waiting Room is great, along with the Transit Museum Store. Got a lot of nice photos. There should service to GCT from Albany, in the form of additional frequencies.
If the applause is from nostalgia for Amtrak trains to GCT, then, really not a good idea. But if there is a market study or operation study that proves its value, then of course it should be considered. So should New England trains from Harford, Providence, and Boston. But only if studies prove their value and marketing makes them usable.
It would be great if this did continue. There was always demand for direct service to the eastside of Manhattan. Ideally several Boston trains might run to GCT as well. In the days before Amtrak there were far more NYG/BOS trains than services from Pennsylvania Station to Boston.