New Buffalo Amtrak Station Opens

A ceremony featuring state and local officials was held on Monday to mark the opening of a new Exchange Street Station in downtown Buffalo, New York. 

The station was built on the site of the former 66-year-old New York Central facility of the same name.

The new $29.8 million Amtrak station, though, is elevated, located closer to the street and is twice the size of the depot it replaced.

Amtrak passengers will be able to make connections to local bus and light-rail service.

The low-level platforms of the station were redesigned to comply with Americans With Disabilities Act standards. The station features a covered pedestrian plaza.

The project was overseen by the New York State Department of Transportation.

The station is served by Amtrak’s Empire Corridor trains between New York and Niagara Falls, New York. The New York-Toronto Maple Leaf also stops at the station.

The Chicago-New York/Boston Lake Shore Limited, however, does not use the tracks passing Exchange Street station.

NY Congressman Still Pushing to Make Buffalo Central Terminal an Amtrak Station

A New York Congressman is not giving up his efforts to convert the vacant Buffalo Central Terminal into an Amtrak station.

Brian Higgins is continuing to push Amtrak to use the former New York Central depot despite the fact that the New York Department of Transportation plans to build a new Buffalo depot at the site of the current Exchange Street station.

That $25 million project is slated to get underway this fall.

“Almost 90 percent of respondents to the site selection committee . . . preferred the Central Terminal. So this is not a decision that’s widely supported by the public to site a new Amtrak station in downtown Buffalo,” Higgins said.

Higgins planned to attend an information open house being hosted by NYDOT to prod it into reconsidering Central Terminal.

“Keep in mind, that the downtown location for a brand new Amtrak station, you cannot access 65 percent of America,” he said.

Amtrak would continue to serve a station it built in suburban Depew, New York. The Chicago-New York/Boston Lake Shore Limited would continue to stop at Depew along with Empire Service trains and the New York-Toronto Maple Leaf.

The Lake Shore Limited is not expected to use the new Buffalo station because that would require a long back-up move.

Aside from its historic character, Higgins said renovating Central Terminal would enable Amtrak to close Depew station.

“There’s tremendous benefits with historic tax credits. A developer could save 30 percent or more of the entire project cost,” Higgins said. “With a tenant in there like Amtrak, the Central Terminal becomes that much more attractive for a private developer that wants to do mixed-use development including retail.”

NY Makes 2nd Attempt at Schenectady Station

An artist’s rendering of the proposed new Amtrak station to be built in Schenectady, New York.

The New York State Department of Transportation is making another attempt to build a new Amtrak station in Schenectady, this time breaking the project into two phases.

An earlier effort to build a new depot ended in failure when the low bid received came in $10 million over budget.

The first phase will include demolition of the existing station, which opened in 1979. Bidding for that project will begin on Sept. 22.

The contractor for this phase will also do concrete work for such things as stairway foundations and elevator shafts.

The second phase will be construction of the new station in 2018. Bidding for that contract will begin in autumn 2017 with construction to be done in 2018. The station will open the same year.

“We split it to attract a wider array of bidders. We’re trying to get more bidders who have a good understanding of the project,” said DOT spokeswoman Carol Breen. “We’re having long advertising periods and holding pre-bid meetings to give contractors a chance to ask questions and clarify anything so we’re getting good bids.”

The station will have 10,630 square feet and is expected to have a traditional railroad station appearance.

Amtrak to Suspend Empire Corridor Train

Amtrak plans to suspend one of its Empire Service trains for more than two months west of Rensselaer, New York, due to CSX track work.

The New York-Niagara Falls trains will not operate between Sunday and Wednesday starting April 24 and continuing through July 13.

At the request of CSX, Amtrak and the New York State Department of Transportation agreed to the service suspension, which has drawn criticism from the Empire State Passengers Association.

“This is an outrageous service reduction just as the busy spring and summer travel season gets under way to and from upstate cities and tourist destinations,” the passenger advocacy group said on its Facebook page.

New York helps fund service between New York and Niagara Falls, although most trains operate between New York and Albany-Resselaer.

Two roundtrips operate between New York and Niagara Falls. Most of the route is also served by the Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited.

Amtrak and the NYSDOT are spending $300 million to lengthen platforms at the Albany-Rensselaer station, install a fourth track at the station complex, build a second track to alleviate congestion between Albany and Schenectady, and upgrade signal and crossing systems between Rensselaer and Poughkeepsie.

N.Y. Track Work May Delay Trains 20 Minutes

Amtrak is warning that trains operating in New York State are subject to delay through December due to track work being undertaken between Hudson and Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y.

This include the Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited and all Empire Service trains. Trains may experience delays of up to 20 minutes in the work zones.

The $163 million project is part of a partnership between the New York State Department of Transportation and Amtrak that includes installation of a fourth track at the Albany-Rensselaer station — the ninth busiest terminal in the Amtrak system.

Amtrak said the additional track will alleviate congestion that results in trains having to wait just outside the station for a track to open during busy times.

A second main line track between Albany-Rensselaer and Schenectady will also be constructed that will eliminate train delays caused by bottlenecks over the 17-mile single-track route.

Also being installed is a new signal system that Amtrak expects will reduce the likelihood of signal outages due to weather.

Iconic Southern Tier Rail Bridge to be Replaced

An iconic bridge on the Southern Tier route will be replaced soon after the Federal Highway Administration approved the design and construction of the replacement span.

The Portageville Viaduct over the Genesee River on the former Erie Railroad has been a favorite of photographers almost since it was built in the 1870s. It features waterfalls crashing beneath it.

Located in Letchworth State Park, the bridge soars about 245 feet above the river gorge. The wrought iron viaduct is 820 feet long and sits on six steel towers constructed in 1875.

Three spans of pin-locked deck trusses and 10 spans of deck plate girders were built in 1903.

The bridge is at milepost SR 361.66 in the Town of Portage and the Town of Genesee Falls. It will be removed once the new bridge is completed in three years.

Norfolk Southern acquired the Southern Tier route in 1999 as part of the Conrail breakup.

Construction of the new bridge will begin this year with the new span located just south of the existing bridge.

The New York Department of Transportation is paying $3 million in design costs and landed secured $12.5 million in state and federal funds for construction. The balance will be provided by Norfolk Southern.

The bridge was been labeled as one of the 10 most significant rail bottlenecks in New York.

Once completed, trains on the bridge will operate at Federal Railroad Administration Class 4 speeds. NS also expects to reduce ongoing maintenance efforts and costs.

 

 

Rochester Depot Construction Set to Begin

Construction of the new Amtrak station in Rochester, N.Y., is expected to begin soon.

New York Department of Transportation Beau Duffy said the agency is awaiting approval of the design-build contract by the state Comptroller’s office before a final schedule is set.

The new facility will replace an Amtrak-built depot and is expected to cost $29.8 million. That is 12 percent higher than an earlier cost estimate and the difference will be made up with state rail funds, DOT officials said this summer.

Federal grants will cover about $18.5 million, with most of the remainder being state funding.

The station will be built on Central Avenue in downtown Rochester and will serve the Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited, the New York-Toronto Maple Leaf and the Empire Corridor trains operating between New York and Niagara Falls, N.Y.