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Old 03-13-2019, 06:16 PM
 
Location: In the heights
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
The part of the post that I bolded was what I was thinking of, but agree that it may need to be adjusted in terms of a "reasonable" time around Rochester.

You do have a line that runs up to Montreal via the Adirondack Service and you actually see TV ads for via Spectrum News. so, for people in CNY/WNY, you would have to go to Albany, then go north from there. https://www.amtrak.com/adirondack-train

A potential limited WNY/CNY route could be something perhaps more Niagara Falls and/or eastern Adirondacks(thinking really Old Forge) based. You have this scenic railroad from Utica to Thendara/Old Forge that could be turned into a more viable (at least seasonal) route: Utica Station | Adirondack Scenic Railroad

So, it could be nice to have the option of taking the train to either one of those tourist attractions or at least more marketing going into illustrating how one could take the train to these places.
Yea, my feeling is that if we're talking about trying to do this as a way to link and economically drive economies outside of NYC in the state, then there needs to be some service that has reasonable times going in both directions for morning departure, evening return in both directions for Western and Central NY perhaps inclusive of a trip to Toronto (though that really requires a better and faster border check which can make that hour and 7 minutes between Buffalo and Toronto more reliable and potentially faster).

It's interesting because this Albany to Buffalo section has pretty well-spaced cities for rail service that are of decent size and any direction one goes further there's an even more massive city on existing rail tracks whether it's Toronto, Montreal, Boston, or NYC (and potentially Cleveland though perhaps that's less of a draw in comparison). This kind of rail proximity amongst each other and to other cities is one of the current inherent advantages that the major upstate cities have, but it seems like it's inadequately supported. Attaining right-of-ways and laying tracks is by far the most politically difficult and economically expensive parts of getting decent passenger rail service and upstate major cities already has this. It just doesn't have the frequency, rolling stock, and minor improvements.

The FRA reforms are good, because it allows for lower operating and capital costs and potentially slightly better timetables through just rolling stock alone. It seems like this would be a good time to take another look at what can make sense for passenger rail in the state.

Last edited by OyCrumbler; 03-13-2019 at 06:25 PM..
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Old 03-13-2019, 08:01 PM
 
Location: In the heights
36,924 posts, read 38,882,189 times
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At the very minimum, I think at least a single westbound train from at least Syracuse on west with earlier morning departure and an east bound train that at least leaves Buffalo in the evening whether it goes to Syracuse, NYC, Boston, Montreal, Schenectady, Albany, Vermont (Rutledge) or does a turnaround elsewhere is a good and viable first step. The tracks and stations are already there and maybe even the rolling stock. Just that and making sure that NYS is aware that the FRA reforms allow for better passenger trains.

Last edited by OyCrumbler; 03-13-2019 at 08:17 PM..
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Old 03-13-2019, 08:29 PM
 
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Originally Posted by OyCrumbler View Post
At the very minimum, I think at least a single westbound train from at least Syracuse on west with earlier morning departure and an east bound train that at least leaves Buffalo in the evening whether it goes to Syracuse, NYC, Boston, Montreal, Schenectady, Albany, Vermont (Rutledge) or does a turnaround elsewhere is a good and viable first step. The tracks and stations are already there and maybe even the rolling stock. Just that and making sure that NYS is aware that the FRA reforms allow for better passenger trains.
That would be great if there was a WNY-CNY rail connection not only in terms of the bigger cities, but the Mohawk Valley cities with stations like Rome, Utica and Amsterdam should have lines that connect them to the closest bigger cit. That way, those in it near those smaller cities have the ability to take another transportation option to those cities they work there or otherwise. So, for Amsterdam, that could mean taking a train to Schenectady or Albany/Rensselaer, as an example.
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Old 03-16-2019, 08:25 AM
 
Location: In the heights
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
That would be great if there was a WNY-CNY rail connection not only in terms of the bigger cities, but the Mohawk Valley cities with stations like Rome, Utica and Amsterdam should have lines that connect them to the closest bigger cit. That way, those in it near those smaller cities have the ability to take another transportation option to those cities they work there or otherwise. So, for Amsterdam, that could mean taking a train to Schenectady or Albany/Rensselaer, as an example.
The Mohawk Valley cities at least have some decently times morning westbound and eastboubd services.

Are there any routes with the exisiting tracks and stations and a rough schedule you think might work best?
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Old 03-16-2019, 11:39 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler View Post
The Mohawk Valley cities at least have some decently times morning westbound and eastboubd services.

Are there any routes with the exisiting tracks and stations and a rough schedule you think might work best?
I think you can go with the currently used tracks, but I think it would be nice to have another train that leaves going eastbound from Niagara Falls during the weekday around 6 AM as well. A run that goes through the Finger Lakes I think would help boost tourism in that part of the state as well.

Here is rail map that I came across and perhaps there could be some other possibilities to use lines that aren't in use now: https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/ope...Rail%20Map.pdf
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Old 03-16-2019, 11:40 AM
 
Location: In the heights
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Also, Amsterdam is another one of the stops where the location of its station is really odd in its distance from downtown.
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Old 03-16-2019, 11:57 AM
 
92,140 posts, read 122,355,529 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler View Post
Also, Amsterdam is another one of the stops where the location of its station is really odd in its distance from downtown.
Yes, that is weird, as even Rome's train station is relatively close to the center of town via a bridge versus the edge of the city for Amsterdam.

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9538...6!9m2!1b1!2i38

Article from the Urban Phoenix about Amsterdam: https://theurbanphoenix.com/2018/01/...to-the-future/

Rome's train station: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.1993...6!9m2!1b1!2i38

Rome articles from the Urban Phoenix: https://theurbanphoenix.com/2016/01/...-welcome-home/

https://theurbanphoenix.com/2016/08/16/pedalsandmovies/
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