Magazine cover titled new york by rail featuring a scenic illustration of a river, boats, a train, and mountains in the background. The Elementor Header highlights "Available Now" with an arrow pointing to the magazine.
Text logo reads new york by rail in large dark blue letters with a shadow effect, styled as an Elementor Header, and GET ON BOARD in smaller red letters to the lower right. White background.
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Amtrak logo with the words From the President on a blue gradient background, featuring a white diagonal line and a small circle on the right, conveying an official message from the President.
A man in a dark suit with arms crossed stands against a light gray background. The text below reads Roger Harris, Amtrak President, accompanied by the headline "From the President.

In New York State, there’s never a shortage of things to do and explore -whether it’s visiting world-class museums, cheering along at a major sporting event, immersing yourself in nature or strolling main streets lined with locally-owned shops and restaurants. This is especially true as New York – and the country -welcome visitors for World Cup and America 250 events. And the best thing? Amtrak takes you to the action with numerous daily trains serving 26 stations across the Empire State.

Ensuring reliable, frequent service and an enjoyable experience for our customers is a priority for Amtrak and our long-time partner, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). NYSDOT provides funding in support of the Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express and Maple Leaf trains, which are joined by the Ace/a, Northeast Regional, Lake Shore Limited and other Long Distance services. Together we work closely to identify and fund improvement projects that will strengthen New York’s passenger rai I system for the long term. Amtrak is supporting NYSDOT on current enhancement projects, including:

  • Construction of a new Livingston Avenue Bridge to replace the existing century-old structure spanning the Hudson River between Rensselaer and Albany that carries al I Amtrak trains between New York City and western and northern New York.
  • Upgrades and restoration work at the Rhinecliff station including improvements to the parking areas, platform, pedestrian bridges and station building.
  • Continued annual investment to improve the Hudson Line, between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady, with projects ranging from track replacement to bridge rehabilitation and more.

In addition to our coordination with NYSDOT, Amtrak has major projects underway in New York State to advance America’s new era of rail. The first is the continued introduction of new NextGen Ace/a trains on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Washington, New York City and Boston.

These 28 trains being built in Hornell, N .Y., are replacing the current fleet of our premium Ace/a service. The new trains allow customers to enjoy plenty of legroom, personal power outlets, complimentary Wi-Fi and restrooms with contactless features.

Progress is also being made on the manufacture of the new Amtrak Airo trains. Offering modern, comfortable seating, spacious restrooms and improved accessibility, these trains will be deployed in coming years on New York routes including the Northeast Regional, Empire Service, Adirondack, Maple Leaf and Ethan Allen Express. Amtrak and NYSDOT have begun efforts to upgrade and expand the Niagara Falls and Rensselaer maintenance facilities to support the new trains.

Last year, we started rehab ii it at ion of t he critically important East River Tunnel (ERT) in New York City, a vital piece of the NEC that also supports service to and from upstate New York. The project will restore two of the four tubes of the ERT that were badly damaged during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. This roughly three-year infrastructure improvement- a $1.6 billion investment – will help fortify our rail network for the next century. When completed, it will improve service reliability for Amtrak and com muter rail travelers both within the state and across the NEC. We appreciate your patience while this work is underway.

We’re also improving stations throughout New York State and across the country, to ensure they are accessible to all customers. These projects include installation of new accessible platforms, ticket counters, restrooms, parking spaces, paths of travel, lighting and sign age. In New York, Amtrak has completed 11 station projects where we have responsibility for the work – most recently in Syracuse and Westport. Three projects are currently in construction, and another five are in the design phase. In total, Amtrak will invest a projected $78.5 million in station accessibility projects in New York.

There’s so much to look forward to in the coming years as Amtrak and NYSDOT advance vital improvements to our nation’s passenger rail service. We’re thankful to have you on this remarkable journey with us, and we look forward to seeing you on board!