ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has joined other elected officials in calling for Amtrak to revise Empire Service schedule changes resulting from the start of East River Tunnel repairs.
In a Nov. 13 letter to Amtrak Board Chair Anthony Coscia and CEO Stephen Gardner, Hochul, a Democrat, said Empire Service trains “are receiving a disproportionate share of impacts and it is critical that you maximally restore service and protect New York’s public while the project progresses.” The letter notes alternative by state Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez including operating some trains to Grand Central Terminal or expanding New York-Albany trains to six cars.
As of Nov. 10, Amtrak reduced Empire Service round trips from 10 to eight while also combining the Adirondack and Maple Leaf into one train between New York and Albany [see “Adirondack operating indifference continues: Analysis,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 10, 2024].
Seven Republican members of New York’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives previously asked Amtrak President Roger Harris to delay the schedule changes [see “Legislators’ letter calls for Amtrak to delay changes …,” News Wire, Nov. 3, 2024]. That group included U.S. Rep Elise Stafanick, named earlier this week by President-elect Donald Trump as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Great move, Kathy dear and Ms. Dominguez! Wait until after Amtrak has implemented the changes before you make this appeal. Like locking the barn door after the cows have escaped and gone over the hill. This from the governor who pulled a sudden 180 on the congestion pricing initiative but didn’t have the decency and honesty to let the top MTA officials, who were counting on the revenue to initiate key capital projects, know ahead of time.
So now the new crew and equipment assignments and other operational arrangements are in effect and would have to be reversed, no easy thing to do quickly. J understand the governor hasn’t a clue on all that but you would think at least Ms. Dominguez would have understood that appealing these changes would have to be done right after Amtrak’s announcement.
I wonder if Ms. Dominguez thought to explore the possibility of shifting enough LIRR trains to Grand Central Madison to reduce significant congestion in the three tunnels remain in service.
Regarding adding some of the cars idled to the remaining trains, I wonder if those cars are still at Rensselaer to deploy.
Regarding the combining of Nos. 63&69, 64&68, I wonder if Gardner&Co bothered to ask CPKC if Nos. 69&68 could operate in earlier slots so as to significantly reduce the Rensselaer dwell for through passengers on Nos. 69&64.