History
The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad opened a line from Albany to Schenectady in 1831. [4] The Utica and Schenectady Railroad opened from Schenectady west to Utica in 1836, including the present Hudson Subdivision west of Schenectady. [5] On the east side of the Hudson River, the Hudson River Railroad opened from New York City north to Rensselaer in 1851. [6] The original Hudson River crossing was the Hudson River Bridge, but the Livingston Avenue Bridge, the current crossing, opened in 1902. [7] The entire line became part of the New York Central, later Penn Central, and finally Conrail, through leases, mergers, and takeovers. The line was then assigned to CSX in the 1999 breakup of Conrail.
In September 2011, Amtrak and CSX reached a long-term operating and lease agreement for the Hudson Line, the CSX-owned segment of the Hudson Subdivision between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady. The agreement, which took effect on December 1, 2012, granted Amtrak the exclusive right to operate passenger service on the line, while CSX retained exclusive freight rights. Under the lease, Amtrak assumed responsibility for managing, dispatching, and controlling all train movements and railroad operations on the Hudson Line, as well as performing maintenance and capital improvements. [8] [9] [10]
Services
Current service
As a segment of the Empire Corridor, the Hudson Line carries six Amtrak routes. The Empire Service , Berkshire Flyer , Lake Shore Limited , and Maple Leaf operate over the entire Hudson Line, while the Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express operate over all except for the small portion northwest of the Delaware and Hudson Railway junction in Schenectady. The trackage west of that junction to Hoffmans is owned by Amtrak and used by CSX via trackage rights.
The Hudson Line has four active stations: Schenectady, Albany–Rensselaer, Hudson, and Rhinecliff. Schenectady is served by five Amtrak services, while Albany-Rensselaer are served by all six Amtrak services, while Hudson is bypassed only by the Lake Shore Limited. Poughkeepsie station is also part of the Amtrak Hudson Line, although Metro-North owns trackage up to a point 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the station.
Passenger service rights under the 2011 lease
In 2011, Amtrak assumed operational control of the Hudson Line between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady, including responsibility for maintenance, dispatching, and capital improvements. [11]
Although the lease [10] between CSX and Amtrak describes Amtrak’s passenger rights as “exclusive,” other passenger operators, including commuter rail agencies, could operate on the line if they negotiate separate access agreements and comply with applicable regulatory requirements. [12] If Amtrak chose not to grant access to other passenger operators, those operators could potentially seek trackage rights through the Surface Transportation Board under federal law. [13] [14]
Service on the line was originally established as the Hudson River Railroad in 1846, opened to Rensselaer in 1851, and later became part of the New York Central Railroad. Commuter service was always concentrated south of Poughkeepsie: by 1940, only three daily round trips – none of them timed for commuting to New York City – made local stops between Albany and Poughkeepsie. [15] By 1960, only a single daily round trip (timed for commuting to Albany) made local stops. [16] It was cut to a Hudson–Albany round trip with four intermediate stops by 1964, and discontinued around 1965; some intercity trains continued to stop at Rhinecliff and Hudson. [17] [18] [19] The New York Central merged into Penn Central in 1968, which in turn became Conrail in 1976. Amtrak took over intercity passenger service from Penn Central in 1971.
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