Amtrak addressing Albany-area bottleneck
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAmtrak says it will award a contract in July to beginremoval of two former passengers stations in Rensselaer, N.Y., just east of thestate capital, Albany, to allow track capacity improvements on the EmpireCorridor.
The removal of the two stations will allow a fourth track toserve the current Albany/Rensselaer station, easing (though not eliminating)train constraints hindering Empire Corridor service, particularly betweenAlbany and Schenectady, N.Y.
Amtrak and the state of New York also seek to add a secondtrack between Albany and Schenectady, a proposal that has been floated for atleast two decades. New York hopes to fund the project by tapping $151 million in federal funds provided in late 2009 by the Federal Railroad Administration to advance high speed rail (HSR) and higher-speed rail (HrSR) throughout the U.S.
