Albany–Rensselaer station

Albany–Rensselaer
Amtrak intercity rail station
CDTA bus stop

View of station from the parking deck
Location 525 East Street
Rensselaer, New York
Coordinates 42°38′29″N 73°44′28″W / 42.64139°N 73.74111°W / 42.64139; -73.74111Coordinates: 42°38′29″N 73°44′28″W / 42.64139°N 73.74111°W / 42.64139; -73.74111
Owned by Capital District Transportation Authority[1]
Operated by Capital District Transportation Authority[1]
Line(s) Empire Corridor (Hudson Subdivision)
Platforms 2 island platforms
Tracks 4
Connections CDTA: 114, 214[1]
Megabus: M27
Construction
Parking 512 spaces[1]
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code ALB
History
Opened September 2002[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2016) 855,176[2] Increase 3.6%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Montreal
Adirondack
Empire Service
toward Rutland
Ethan Allen Express
toward Toronto
Maple Leaf
toward Chicago
Lake Shore Limited

Rensselaer Rail Station is a train station in Rensselaer, New York, located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from downtown Albany across the Hudson River.[1] As of 2007, the station was Amtrak's tenth-busiest station[3] and by 2010 it had become the ninth-busiest, as well as the busiest to serve a metro area with a population smaller than 2 million.[4] It is served by Amtrak's Empire Corridor routes, including the Lake Shore Limited, whose Boston and New York branches diverge at the station.

In order to distinguish this station from the Rensselaer station in Indiana, it is branded for Amtrak services as Albany–Rensselaer.

History

A Penn Central Empire Service train arriving at Albany-Rensselaer in 1970
Interior of the current station.

Operated by the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), the current structure was completed in September 2002 and opened on the 22nd of that month.[5] It features a Coffee Beanery coffeeshop, a newsstand, and a post office. It was designed by the Schenectady architecture firm Stracher–Roth Gilmore and the New York firm Vollmer Associates, with Ryan-Biggs of Troy providing structural engineering, Sage/Engineering Associates providing MEP engineering services, Erdman Anthony of Troy providing facilities engineering, and constructed by U. W. Marx/Bovis joint venture.[6]

The intermodal station replaced two previous terminal buildings, one built in 1968 and the other in 1980.[4] The 1968 building was torn down in order to expand the station's parking facility. Before 1968, trains stopped at Union Station in Albany. That building, located on Broadway, now houses the northeast headquarters of Bank of America (via predecessors Fleet Bank and Norstar Bank). The New York Central Railroad had plans to leave Albany, in part because Interstate 787 needed the space occupied by a rail yard, but the move took place under Penn Central's watch.

The current station was built with three tracks (a fourth was planned, but eliminated due to cost) and the station has had fewer than preferable tracks since.[5] In October 2008, it was announced that a fourth track would be built after the two previous terminal buildings were demolished; a contract for that work was assigned at the same time.[5] Design work was proceeding on the fourth track as of February 2010, but actual construction was placed on hold pending resolution of funding issues and demolition of the two terminal buildings to the north.[5] On October 27, 2010, demolition of the two other buildings began.[4] In a December 4, 2012 press release, Amtrak indicated that installation of the fourth track would begin in 2013,[7] and the project was completed in March 2016.[8]

Transportation services

Amtrak

With the exception of the Boston branch of the Lake Shore Limited, all trains have southbound service to Penn Station in New York City.

Bus

The intercity Megabus operates regular service to New York City and Ridgewood, N.J.

Two bus routes operated by the Capital District Transportation Authority, the local public transportation agency, serve the station:

Station layout

The station's two high-level island platforms are connected to the main building by an aerial walkway. Each 605-foot platform can accommodate up to 7 Amfleet cars, not including an engine.

G Street level Exit/entrance, platform crossover, station building, parking, buses
P
Track 4 ← Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf toward New York City (Hudson)
← Lake Shore Limited toward New York City (Rhinecliff)
Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
Track 2 ← Adirondack, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Maple Leaf toward New York City (Hudson)
← Lake Shore Limited toward New York City (Rhinecliff)
Track 1 Adirondack toward Montreal (Schenectady)→
Empire Service toward Niagara Falls (Schenectady)→
Ethan Allen Express toward Rutland (Schenectady)→
Maple Leaf toward Toronto (Schenectady)→
Lake Shore Limited toward Chicago (Schenectady) →
Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
Track 3 Adirondack toward Montreal (Schenectady)→
Empire Service toward Niagara Falls (Schenectady)→
Ethan Allen Express toward Rutland (Schenectady)→
Maple Leaf toward Toronto (Schenectady)→
Lake Shore Limited toward Chicago (Schenectady)→
← Lake Shore Limited toward Boston (Pittsfield)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rail Stations". Capital District Transportation Authority. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2016, State of New York" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2006: New York, Amtrak statistics, Retrieved February 10, 2008
  4. 1 2 3 Anderson, Eric (October 27, 2010). "High-Speed Rail Chugs Toward the Fast Lane". Albany Times Union. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Woodruff, Cathy (February 14, 2010). "Train Late? Old Stations Derail New Track". Albany Times Union. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ "2002 Award of Merit: Transit Project". Engineering News-Record. McGraw-Hill. December 1, 2002. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Governor Cuomo Announces Hudson Rail Lease - Amtrak/CSX Deal Will Improve Passenger Service, Move Projects Forward" (PDF) (Press release). Albany, New York: Amtrak. December 4, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Eric (March 7, 2016). "Fourth Track Opens At Station". Albany Times Union. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
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