HSR Improvements Empire Corridor 1985 Louis Rossi

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NEW YORK STATE'S HIGH SPEEDEMPIRE CORRIDOR

Louis ROSSIDirector of Rail Division

D.O. T of the State of New- York


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Tracing its roots to NEWYORKState's first railroad (the MOHAWKnd HUDSONRailroad of 1831), the "Empire Corridor" has historically combined the

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NEW YORK STATE'S HIGHEMPIRE CORRIDOR

SPEED

LOCATIONThe 462 mile NEWYORKCity to NIAGARAFalls "Empire Corridor" became knownas the "water level route" because it follows the East shore of the HUDSONRiver North from NEWYORKCi ty to ALBANY, the North shore of the MOHAWKRiver and the Lake ONTARIOcoastal flatlands West to BUFFALO, and the Eastshore of the N!AGARARiver North to NIAGARAFalls (fig. 1). Its Westernextension from BUFFALOto CHICAGOvia CLEVELANDmaintains a similar profileas it continues along the shores of Lake ERIE and Lake MICHIGAN.

HERITAGE


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.2.

1. NYS Thruway is a limited access superhighway which parallels the "EmpireCorridor" for the full length of NEW YORK State

A POSITIVE NOTEDuring the 20-year period of decl ine described above, one event can beconstrued as a positive note. In December 1967, the NEW YORK Centralcompletely reorganized its passenger train operations. Discarded was thetime-worn, long distance passenger train. Instead of a dozen overnighttrains from NEW YORK City to various destinations in the Midwest, a lone,NEW YORK-CHICAGO train was instituted. Featured instead, in the NEW YORKCity - ALBANY portion of the "Empire Corridor", were several all-coachtrains. These two-to-four car trains provided shorter running times betweenNEW YORK ALBANY (142 miles), and actually resulted in a temporaryincrease in ridership. Known as "Empire Service", the new concept served toindicate that certain passenger service still had potential if tailored tothe needs of the travelling public. This was one of the few initiativestaken by privately owned railroads on behalf of passenger service duringthe two decades immediately prior to the formation of AMTRAK. New Yorkershave benefited from this venture as it established an operationalconfiguration which has been the basic pattern of service on the "EmpireCorridor" ever since.

AMTRAKOn May 1, 1971, the newly formed National Railroad Passenger Corporation(AMTRAK) assumed responsibility for the operation of all "Empire Corridor"passenger trains. Service was immediately curtailed to within the borders


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.3.

THE TASKRebuilding a railroad from the ground up is a vast undertaking. Whenaccomplished while the railroad remains in service, it becomes monumental.This was the task confronting NEW YORK State in 1975.In addition to the rebuilding of active trackage, two stretches of trackhad to be restored if the "Empire Corridor" was to become a high speed railline serving the needs of additional communities.

1. The 16 miles of trackage immediately South of ALBANY-RENSSELAER hadbeen reduced from double track to single track by Penn Central in 1969 inan economy move. Restoration to double track was a must.

2. The 13 miles of single track from the East side of SCHENECTADY to prail junction called HOFFMANS (10 miles West of SCHENECTADY) had beenclosed to service by Penn Central in 1973 and passenger trains reroutedover circuitous 50 mph freight trackage. The more direct route waspreferable fop high speed operation (up to 110 mph ) in addition toproviding access to a new station in downtown SCHENECTADY.

RECONSTRUCTIONThe first segment designated for rebuilding was the 94 miles of trackagebetwenn POUGHKEEPSIE and HOFFMANS which included the two missing stretchesof track described above. The work schedule called for new subgrade,ballast and crossties, for continuous welded rail throughout, and a modern


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.4.

EQUIPMENTAttracti ve, efficient high speed passenger equipment was a necessity ifNEW YORK State's investment was to be fully realized. The fatestnon-electric powered trains in the world in 1976 were the French RTG TurboTrains. That same year, ROHR INDUSTRIES of CALIFORNIA modified the Frenchdesign and produced a North American version known as the Turboliner (RTL).The new train sets were higher, wider, and heavier than their Europeancounterparts, and had a sp~ed capability of 125 mph. AMTRAK assigned th~Turboliners to the "Empire Corridor" where they became the visiblecenterpiece of the high speed service.

RIDERSHIPNEW YORK State's HIGH SPEED RAIL PASSENGER PROGRAM has produced a statewideridership growth since 1974 that is twice the AMTRAK national average (fig2)

RIDERSHIP ON NEW YORK STATE ROUTES.1974

7 I 3 ~ 5 7 6 -1983---------1,250,068

% Increase- - - 7 5 - : - 2 - - -The fastest running time between ALBANY and NEW YORK City has been reducedto an all-time low of 2 hours and 11 minutes. Since 1977, when the runningtime between the same two cities was 3 hours, ridership has increased


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.5.

N AT IO NA L C OM PA RI SO NAMTRAK has experienced steady growth in its national ridership in recentyears as the nation's rail service has been greatly improved, particularlyon the BOSTON - NEW YORK City - WASHINGTON "Northeast.Corridor". Until thebeginning of High Speed service, the "Empire Corridor" routinely claimedfive percent of the national ridership. In the first three years of HighSpeed service, the "Empire Corridor's" share of the nation's total hasincreased to well over six percent and is continuing to climb.N at io na l c om pa ri so n 01 station patronage further illustrates the success ofthe HIGH SPEED RAIL PASSENGER PROGRAM. During the first three years of highspeed service, the patronage at ALBANY RENSSELAER increased 21 %.ALBANY-RENSSELAER's patr-onage ranking rose from 18th to 13th nationally.Over the same period, SCHENECTADY's patronage climbed 52 % resulting in animprovement in ranking of from 90th to 47th among AMTRAK stationsnationswide.

THE FUTUREAdditional track and signal improvements are immediately scheduled for the"Empire Corr~dor" in the NEW YORK City metropolitan area. This will furtherreduce NEW YORK City - ALBANY running time to less than two hours. PLansalso call for a new connection linking the "Empire Corridor" with AMTRAK's"Northeast Corridor" at Penn Station in NEW YORK City .. Thr ough pa ssenge rtrain runs from usstate NEW YORK to Long Island communi ties will also bepossible for the first time as a result of the new Penn Station Connector.


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NEW YORK STATEINTERCITY RAIL PASSENGER ROUTES

E M PIR E C O RR ID O RO ther R ail P assenger R ou tes

Plattsburgh

T o B o s to nH U U S O N{

nJl IN ECLlFFIP U U G l f I ( E E P S I E

T o P h il ad e lp h ia a n d W a s h in g to n


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10%

Datum1979 19801974 1975

Service Improvements:

NE\-lYORK STATE'SHIGH SPEED RAIL PASSENGER PROGRM1

Amtrak Ridership on New York State RoutesIncrease since 1974

36% 37 %

66%69%

1981 19821976 1977 19781976 - First full year of serv ice - "Lake Shore Limited"1976 - Rohr Turboliners enter service1979 - Begin "High Spe ed"service - Poughkeepsie to Hoffmans1983 - A dd it io na l " High Speed" service - Croton-Harmon to PoughkeepsieYear during which lligh S peed service was available

75%

I\J

1983

j


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New York City to Albany - RensselaerR ed uc ti on in R un ni ng T il li ev s. Ridership Increase

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HSR Improvements Empire Corridor 1985 Louis Rossi

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