Electrification and Upgrading the Husdon line Till Albany (New York, Syracuse: purchases, price)

[Adi from the Brunswicks]

My dad has traveled along I 87 numerous number of times and got stuck in some pretty horrific jams. Since then, started taking public transportation if required to travel to the capital district region. From what I hear, the train service between NYC and Albany is more reliable than driving, but just not developed to its full potential. Currently, these tracks can support 110 mph Amtrak trains. However, the potential and demand exists to convert this into an electrified mainline for the Hudson Valley, and support trains just as fast as the northeast corridor. In fact, it would be easier for Amtrak to send some of its northeast regional trains up the Hudson valley and terminate in Albany (Which is technically part of the northeast region), thereby providing much easier access for those in the capital district who wish to travel to Baltimore/Philly/DC. Electrification and track upgrades should not be very difficult since passenger trains by Amtrak and metro north have more control than CSX freights, and favor electrification along the Hudson line tracks. This line should be developed in a way similar to the New haven-Boston and Keystone High speed rail developments. The maximum speed for this line, once fully developed should be around 155 mph reached by most trains between Rhineback and Hudson. Average speeds are projected to be around 96 mph, around 35% faster than average car travel. The travel time to Albany after high speed upgrades is proposed to be 1:41:00. Its a costly development which requires federal funding, but is worth the investment for quick connections between 2 growing regions. I believe there has been talk about this project several years before. So, do you think its will be beneficial and should start taking off soon ?

[VA Yankee]

It will not start anytime soon, are there hard numbers to show potential ridership if this upgrade is performed? DC to Boston is a significant line and helps alleviate the number of flights to DC from the NE corridor how many flights would be alleviated by your proposal?

The idea is nice and would provide a convience who work in the region but I just don't see it happending.

[Adi from the Brunswicks]

This is the 4th busiest route on Amtrak's Network, with close to 1.5 million riders per year. Flights from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and DC to Upstate cities like Syracuse and Albany take up a significant volume of regional air traffic as well. Like the Northeast corridor, improving and electrifying this line allows for faster and more direct operations of NEC trains to Upstate destinations like Albany and, in the future, Syracuse. In addition, the Hudson line till Albany is primarily controlled by passenger railroads like Amtrak and metro north and sees little to no freight traffic every day. The Keystone saw roughly the same amount of ridership before being electrified into a successful high speed train line. The same will happen in this case as well, as distances are similar and population density is even greater along the Hudson line as opposed to the keystone. If improved and electrified, potential exists for it to become the second busiest train line on the Amtrak network, carrying around 4 million passengers per year. There has been talk about this earlier, but funding has never been secured and the project has not taken off. This project is a boon for Amtrak ridership, and has the ability to transform into a true HSR line like the NEC rather than the haphazard "100 MPH HSR" ideas out in the Midwest.

[ki0eh]

The Keystone was electrified, and goes near the dam that generates the weird 25 Hz power. Fixing the Keystone electrification even for the way Amtrak does things was likely a lot cheaper than installing new electrification up the Empire corridor, despite other similarities. Also from Harrisburg station even a politico can walk to the state capitol, not quite the same as from Rensselaer. Electrifying to Albany is a good idea but there are limits in the comparison to the Keystone.

[VA Yankee]

Your figures are slightly off the NYC to Albany route (Empire Service) was listed as #7 not #4 (ref: Top 10 busiest Amtrak routes - Greater Greater Washington)

Keystone with it's inclusion of Philly falls under the NE Corridor routes and electrifing the extra section made sense, now they don't need to do an engine switch to allow the train to continue on to NYC.

[Adi from the Brunswicks]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Keystone with it's inclusion of Philly falls under the NE Corridor routes and electrifing the extra section made sense, now they don't need to do an engine switch to allow the train to continue on to NYC.

Under that idea, Electrifying this line would allow NEC trains to travel up to Hudson valley cities without any difficulty, and would provide a one seat ride from state capital to the national capital. This could be of vital importance, especially for a politically active state like New York. Like I said, there has been talk about this before and significant upgrades and ROW purchases have been done in the recent years along this line to promote better passenger services. There is every possibility that this track is next in line for high speed development (130+ mph). I wont be surprised if it happens in the next 15-20 years.

Metro north can also take advantage of this to improve its commuter services to Poughkeepsie, and the Hudson valley north of Croton & Harmon will finally see faster and more direct rail service. MNRR could use its cantanery-third rail switch EMU's along this line too and simultaneously update its fleet . This is a very busy and frequently used line on the MTA Metro north commuter Network, and deserves the latest updates.

Spoiler

For power, who needs a dam when you have a Nuclear reactor nearby . Just kidding

[millerm277]

Originally Posted by Adi from the Brunswicks

Under that idea, Electrifying this line would allow NEC trains to travel up to Hudson valley cities without any difficulty

Still not likely to happen. Empire service is it's own thing and going to remain that way, IMO. It's a long corridor, and extending trains to a longer run, while producing more "one-seat" rides, also means more potential for delays and problems.

and would provide a one seat ride from state capital to the national capital.

Not really....of any importance. No one important or who values their time is ever going to take that, even if it was 130mph. US Airways runs ~$100 one way trips from ALB-DCA, 4x a day. They're a 1.5 hour flight to put you on the ground in DC, right on the Metro. Amtrak is unlikely to beat that price by any significant amount, and it'll be double the time even if the train ran 130mph the whole way without stopping anywhere. In reality, it would be 3-5x the time.

Don't get me wrong, I think upgrades are coming in the next decade and are worthwhile. Just I don't agree with your justification.