ALBANY, N.Y. — Amtrak has suspended operation of its Empire Service west of Albany, along with the Lake Shore Limited, because of a “potential safety concern with a non-Amtrak, privately owned building” located near the rail line.
WNYT-TV reports the building involved is the Central Warehouse. Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan has declared a state of emergency, citing a structural engineering report that says collapse of the structure’s southerly wall — the one closest to the Amtrak route — is considered imminent.
“We are working closely with local, state, and federal partners and engineering experts to determine the extend to the structural failure and develop a plan to insure the safety of our residents and businesses,” Sheehan said in a statement, “and get the trains running on time and interstate commerce back on track.”
The 12-story structure at 143 Montgomery Street in Albany was built in 1927 but has been mostly empty since 1990. It features thick concrete walls; it has been estimated that demolition and asbestos abatement would exceed $10 million, according to WTEN-TV. Two investment groups made a proposal to purchase and redevelop the 500,000-square-foot structure earlier this year.
Amtrak announced the suspension of service in a post on its website at midnight.
Full service will continue between Albany and New York City. The Lake Shore Limited scheduled to depart Chicago Thursday evening was cancelled, as was the westbound Lake Shore Limited scheduled to depart Boston today, according to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed. As of 8:30 a.m., tonight’s eastbound departure from Chicago is still shown as operating, according to the train-status feature on the Amtrak website.
The Ethan Allen Express, which beginning today is extending its route to reach Burlington, Vt., and uses the same route through Albany, will operate a bus bridge between Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Albany.
The company has not yet responded to a request from Trains News Wire for additional information.
— Updated at 10:42 a.m. CDT with additional information on building involved; updated at 1 p.m. with information on Ethan Allen Express.
Its too bad Amtrak and NY State don’t have the money to buy and abate the building.
It looks like a good location for a new downtown station.
Google maps shows a siding going into the building on the satellite view and a picture of the building with the siding crossing over Erie Blvd on a bridge to enter the building on the 2nd floor.
There is absoutly no reason why any of the Empire Service trains could not run via the connection from CP 187, change ends and then run over the bridge through Selkirk and rejoin the main at Amsterdam. I guess that CSX will not cooperate.
I guess that no one at Amtrak knows of this alternative.
It would mean bypassing Albany. But I could see it for the Lakeshore and one of two Empire trains.
Charles: If by “bypassing Albany” you mean Amtrak’s Rensselaer station, trains detouring via Castleton Bridge and the Selkirk Sub to/from Hoffmans would serve Rensselaer station. The alternative to using the Hudson and Schodack Subs, namely the Post Road Sub to/from the Berkshire Sub at CP187 that Mr. Dietz suggests, makes good sense. Actually, both routes could be options since the single track Post Road Sub and the lack of a siding on the Berkshire Sub east of CP187 could pose operational problems if two opposing trains were in the picture. I believe there is at least one, if not two, bypass tracks around Selkirk Yard which could be of tremendous help facilitating these detours. Yeah, it’s gonna be painful for a while. But if Amtrak can get all the Rensselaer-based crews qualified on both the above alternatives, at least trains will run. Admittedly, neither alternative will save Nos. 290/291 from a “bus bridge” because Schenectady will have to be bypassed.
CSX would have to supply crews to act as pilots across the CSX portion where the Amtrak crews are not qualified. Just speculation here, but Perhaps CSX cannot spare personnel for this, or Amtrak can’t be bothered asking.
The fact that they had a bus bridge from A-R and a train between Saratoga Springs and Burlington VT is because “Amtrak officials, including CEO Stephen J. Gardner, gathered in Burlington to celebrate the newly extended Ethan Allen rail line that would bring regularly scheduled passenger service from New York City back to Burlington for the first time since the 1950s.” per the Albany Times-Union.
I’m sure if there had been only paying passengers, they would have been left standing just as the Lake Shore passengers were left.
And if Penn Central had not moved out of Albany Union Station, would we even be having this problem?
I gather that CSX routes through Selkirk?
Amtrack cancels service if a leaf falls. Their motto is “The Public Be Dammed”
Yes that’s correct, Charles. Starting east from Amsterdam (MP177) the Amtrak Hudson Sub begins at Hoffmans (CP169), crosses the Mohawk into Schenectady, then down West Albany Hill to cross the “lordly” Hudson River on the Livingston Ave Bridge to Rensselaer. CSX’s Selkirk Sub also begins at CP169. It diverges to the north, jumps over the Amtrak line, crosses the Mohawk River to Rotterdam, NY and then east to Selkirk Yard. At the east end of Selkirk Yard is CP SK where three routes diverge 1) the River Sub heads south down the west shore of the Hudson, 2) the Berkshire Sub heads across the Hudson on Castleton Bridge, 3) a line whose designation escapes me heads northeast to the Port of Albany. At the east end of Castleton Bridge is CP SM where the Schodack Sub ramps down to junction with the Amtrak Hudson Sub at CP125. If CSX were agreeable and could provide pilots Amtrak could operate via the Schodack and Selkirk Subs and miss Schenectady. Westward trains would go to Rensselaer and then have to make backup moves Rensselaer depot (MP142) to CP125, then head up the Schodack to Castleton Bridge and go west and the reverse for eastward trains. Would be a “heavy lift” for Amtrak and CSX.
Easier move would be to use the line that the Boston section of Lake Shore uses. Go up the hill from the station to the east side of the bridge at CP 187. Then go west, much shorter distance wise. I used to live right next to the tracks in Castelton when I was a general foreman at Selkirk Diesel Shop in the 1980’s. It wad greayt having two trains go by every day.
They could use transit buses for the short distance between Schenectady and Rensselaer. Or even school buses as we did once on the Ontario Northland. They were what was available.
I don’t suppose running via Selkirk occurred to anybody.
However it makes an excellent excuse to cancel service.
Why are you suggesting a practical solution? That makes perfect sense, but NYS, CSX and Amtrak don’t do sensible things.
I don’t recall the circumstances, but in the late 1970s Amtrak did run trains via Selkirk for a period of a week or two. I was working for Conrail at the time.
A sad commentary on the state of rail passenger service. If the building has to be demolished and has asbestos, it could take many months.
So…the Eastbound Lake Shore train couldn’t run at least to Schenectady or Rensselaer? With a bus bridge to Albany? Amtrak makes no attempt at providing service. I don’t know the trackage in the Albany area. Any way around this? Another strike against the Congressional staffer and his airline cronies. Along with a clueless board.
I’m familiar with the setting. As soon as the Amtrak tracks leave the Rensselaer station west over the Hudson (over what I understand to be a Civil War era bridge) they almost immediately pass near by the building in question. So no, nothing to Schenectady. Some of the yard/ backup moves actually partially cross the bridge it is so close to the yard and station. The eastbound Lake Shore stops at Rensselaer where the Boston and NYC sections join to head west across New York to Chicago. If a special train with a very wide load used those tracks (assuming it could cross the bridge), it very likely would nearly scrape the building itself.
The building is a massive hulk of concrete–a former cold storage building. It is hard to believe that it could be weakening, but….
One additional item: Eastbound, the Lake Shore actually passes through Albany to cross the river into Rensselaer. The station is in Rensselaer, not Albany. There are no stops in Albany.
Could this only happen to Amtrak ? What a situation to cancel service.