Amtrak’s latest service cuts have now been in effect for about a month.

The cuts are expected to last three years and are because of construction on the East River Tunnels in New York City. The tunnels were damaged by Superstorm Sandy more than a decade ago.

Amtrak trains from Albany use the East River Tunnels to get to Amtrak’s Sunnyside Yard in Queens after they leave Penn Station.

“It makes the commute longer, and it just makes it worse in general,” said one commuter.

With the construction Amtrak has cut three options for passengers each day. Capital Region commuters previously had 13 roundtrips to and from New York City back in October of 2024 and before the most recent service cuts passengers had 12 roundtrips. However, passengers now only have 10 trains per day going to and from New York City.

“It was harder to find available trains because a lot of them were there, like one seat left, which makes it harder to come back,” said one Amtrak passenger.

The cuts have led to trains becoming more crowded with one telling NewsChannel 13 he now might think about driving more often.

“You feel like you’re punished for not wanting to drive up here,” said one passenger.

The reduction has led to popular trains such as the 6:35 p.m. rush hour train from Albany to New York City and the 8:20 a.m. train from New York City to Albany being cut. This has created about three-hour gaps for passengers during the morning and evening commute.

“I wonder what the thinking was behind that,” one passenger said.

The service cuts are not just having an impact on passengers travelling to and from the Albany-Rensselaer Station but the entire Capital Region.

Amtrak’s southbound Maple Leaf and northbound Adirondack Train are now forced to sit and wait in Rensselaer for almost two hours.

This makes trips longer from New York’s Penn Station to places like Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Fort Edward, and Whitehall.

For example, Amtrak trains from New York City to Saratoga Springs normally take about three and a half hours. Now, passengers are only left with one manageable option.

The second option, the Adirondack, takes almost five and a half hours as it sits in Rensselaer for one hour and 55 minutes. The northbound Adirondack’s scheduled arrival in Rensselaer is 9:50 a.m. each day, with its scheduled departure time being 11:45 a.m. Amtrak kept this departure time from Rensselaer the same as it was before the service cuts. Prior to the service cuts, the Adirondack train arrived in Rensselaer around 11 a.m. each day.

Headed south, it’s a different story. The Adirondack sits in Albany for just over 30 minutes and Amtrak’s Toronto train takes the hit.

The train leaves Amsterdam and Schenectady at the same time it did before the service cuts began and still arrives in Rensselaer at 6:05 p.m. The train than waits at the Albany Station till 7:40 p.m.

This layover has left passengers feeling frustrated.

“So having to like, sit and be in here for an hour, like, really makes the trip that much longer,” said one passenger.

Passengers on the Maple Leaf also arrive in New York City later. The Maple Leaf train still departs Amsterdam station at 4:55 p.m. but it now arrives in New York City at 10:15 p.m, compared to the previous arrival time of 9:15 p.m. This makes the trip of whopping 5 hour and 20 minuets for what is normally about a 3 hour and 45-minute ride.

This layover having a direct impact on passengers last Thursday when Amtrak’s Maple Leaf arrived at the Albany station just before its scheduled time of 6:05 p.m. Passengers were then forced to sit and wait in Albany for more than 2 and a half hours, waiting for the delayed Amtrak’s Adirondack train coming from Montreal. This led to passengers not getting into New York City until after midnight for a train that would normally arrive just after 9 p.m.

NewsChannel 13 spoke with Bruce Becker from the Empire State Passenger’s Association. Becker said construction on the East River Tunnels is necessary.

“We support the need for the tunnels to be fully repaired. There are two tubes under the East River that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. and we certainly are supportive that they need to be repaired in an expedition manner,” Becker said.

However, Becker believes these cuts could have been prevented even with construction ongoing.

“We certainly feel that there are other mitigating factors that could be implemented. I know there is talk of Metro-North, perhaps leasing a train set to Amtrak to be used between New York and Albany. There is some talk that trains could operate into Grand Central versus Penn Station. I think all that’s up in the air at the moment, but certainly getting all the parties together to talk about it is a great step,” said Becker.

Becker is talking about last Thursday’s meeting with Governor Hochul, with leaders from both the MTA and Amtrak.

One of the topics in the meeting was trying to reduce the effects of construction to Capital Region Amtrak passengers.

If Amtrak trains ran into Grand Central temporarily during construction, they would avoid the East River Tunnels. Amtrak trains most recently ran into Grand Central back in 2018, when construction was being done at New York’s Penn Station. So why couldn’t they now?

The owner of Grand Central Terminal is the MTA. MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan telling NewsChannel 13 in a statement that the MTA is and was open to the idea.

“Amtrak was offered options to temporarily run Empire train service into Grand Central Terminal that were declined because they said there were not enough Amtrak locomotives or cab cars available,” Donovan said.

When Amtrak was asked about this still being a future possibility.

“Amtrak will continue its ongoing efforts to acquire and reposition capacity for Empire Service,” said an Amtrak spokesperson.

Governor Hochul said Amtrak needs to do more.

“I have been clear since day one: whether it’s on Empire Service or the Long Island Rail Road, when it comes to protecting riders, I will not back down. While I have always been supportive of rehabilitating the East River Tunnel, it is clear that Amtrak needed to do more to address our concerns and bolster its efforts to mitigate the impact of its planned shutdown on commuters,” Hochul said.

New York State Department of Transportation’s Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez writing in a letter to Amtrak last November about the cuts.

“NYSDOT requests that Amtrak restore the cancelled trips by operating some trains to Grand Central
Terminal or via another feasible alternative,” Dominguez said.

The recent service cuts have also put another burden on passengers, making trains more expensive more often.

Passengers are now forced to pay a price of up to $109 more often just to take a two and half-hour ride from Albany to New York City.

Governor Hochul telling us in a statement “Amtrak committed to working to meet capacity needs for service between New York City and the rest of the State and I have asked that they work to suspend dynamic pricing on these trips during the shutdown. We will be working diligently to hold Amtrak accountable for the promises they made today.”