[UPDATED AND REVISED 7/5/17] Rochester’s new train station is expected to be open for business later in the summer. The 12,000 square foot facility and $29.5 million project is nearing completion, and some government officials have touted that it will improve business and tourism. But how the new station will impact ridership over the long term isn’t clear, since Amtrak is facing a number of challenges.
Delays are a frequent passenger complaint, for instance. “On-time performance” was a lackluster 73 percent for trains serving Rochester in April 2017, and it was the same for April 2016, says Gary Prophet, president of the Empire State Passenger Association. The organization works with a wide range of government, business, and transportation organizations to promote passenger train ridership in New York State.
The tracks between Niagara Falls and Albany were badly in need of repairs in some areas, says Prophet. Work on the tracks is done primarily during the spring and summer months, and accounts for some of the delays in Upstate New York, he says.
“Amtrak service is much more reliable between Albany and New York City,” he says.
Another challenge for Amtrak is the need for more cars and service during the summer months. Ridership out of the Rochester station in 2016 was 123,000, Prophet says, and it’s been up and down for the last seven years. Trains are operating at capacity and weekends are often sold out in advance, he says. The need for better service between Rochester and Albany is a particularly important issue, he says, because there are no direct airline flights that go from Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse to Albany.
“Telling riders that you’ve sold out of seats is never good,” Prophet says.
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 4, 2017.
As a lover of rail travel, it pains me to admit it’s becoming harder and harder to defend the issues that Amtrak passengers experience on nearly every ride. Amtrak “rents” track from CSX, the freight carrier that owns the lines that service most of New York State. Frequent delays are, for the most part, due to “freight traffic” with Amtrak trains taking a backseat to freight trains.
Amtrak is in a difficult spot. In a time when our country is seeking alternative forms of transit, and with a millennial population that is seeing the automobile as less and less of a necessity, passenger rail is poised to be a fantastic regional transportation option. But significant delays (hours, not minutes) that are so pervasive that they are seen as almost acceptable make it a far less attractive option for recreational travel and an impossible option form reliable business travel. Take it from someone who has traveled across New York State over a hundred times via Amtrak in the last several years… if you have to get somewhere by a certain time, Amtrak is not a good option. But unfortunately, Amtrak simply does not have the budget or capabilities to capably address these issues.
Amtrak’s positives include convenience and comfort. You can arrive at the station 5 minutes before the train arrives and board when it gets there. You can take two bags, and they go in the racks above your seat. No security lines, no one’s going through your stuff… you just get on the train and go.
Once you’re there, you can sprawl out in the large seats with plenty of leg room, or walk down to the cafe car for some food and drink. It’s relaxing, and the scenery is nice.
Unless major changes to service are undertaken, Amtrak will continue to be underutilized. It will simply be an “additive” for the cities it serves rather than a significant motivator for commerce and tourism in Upstate NY. I love Amtrak, but unless drastic changes are made, it’s potential will never be maximized.
This article says the train station cost $15 million; the D&C article on the station says it cost $29.5 million (with $15 million of that in federal funds). If the D&C article is correct, the City Newspaper article is incorrect, and needs to be corrected. Pretty big difference between the two numbers and if the D&C number is correct, it is insane to spend this money on a station that gets less than one-tenth the traffic the airport gets. What a grotesque waste of tax dollars. Link to D&C article: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/…
You can blame Amtrak on-time performance on CSX, the freight company that owns the tracks and dispatches the trains. They are under no obligation to keep Amtrak trains on schedule thanks to successful lobbying by the freight industry to strike down a century-old regulation that gives priority to passenger trains. Amtrak trains will yield to freight at the whim of CSX. As for increasing service and adding cars, NYSDOT will have to pony up more money for additional frequencies, and Amtrak will have to beg Congress for money to buy additional cars.