Amtrak’s Popular New York State Route Will Be Back in Service Next Week

The Empire Service line will be back on Dec. 2.

By Alison Fox Alison Fox

Alison Fox is a Travel + Leisure contributor. She has also written for Parents.com, The Wall Street Journal, and amNewYork. When she’s not in New York City, she can be found at the beach or on the slopes. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on November 28, 2024

Close Aerial view of Upper West Side and Riverside Park, with Amtrak train below, from the George Washington Bridge in New York. Photo:

Barry Winiker/Getty Images

Amtrak has agreed to temporarily fully restore the popular Empire Service line ahead of the busy holiday travel season, making it easier for New Yorkers to access the Hudson Valley and beyond.

Service on the train, which runs between New York City and Niagara Falls in upstate New York, was temporarily reduced last month due to an ongoing rehabilitation project of the underwater tunnels damaged by 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. However, following a letter from New York’s Gov. Kathy Hochul, Amtrak has since agreed to restore the service until the company’s major tunnel work begins in the spring.

“The tunnel work, an essential infrastructure improvement project and a $1.6 billion investment for New York State, will improve train service reliability both within New York State and throughout the Northeast Corridor,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a statement, but added “our new schedules will ensure that the trains used by more than 98% of customers will be in service until major tunnel work begins.”

In addition to restoring the trains by Dec. 2, Amtrak will add an extra car to several trains on the line. The company will also once again operate the Adirondack and Maple Leaf trains as separate lines between New York City and Albany.

“Ensuring access to reliable train travel throughout this key corridor is critical to riders who utilize the service and to communities who benefit from the economic activity they generate,” Hochul said in a statement. “These service restorations are a huge victory for passengers who depend on the Empire Service and I thank Amtrak for working with us to ensure that we minimize to the fullest extent possible the schedule disruptions caused by the East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project.”

The construction is affecting plans beyond just New York. As part of the closures, Amtrak launched the Floridian line — a temporary combination of the Capitol Limited and Silver Star lines — to minimize disruptions.

The East River Tunnel Rehabilitation Project will close one tunnel tube at a time in an effort to restore two tubes damaged by the storm and modernize the tunnel’s infrastructure.