ALBANY, N.Y. — A Republican State senator is raising several concerns over plans to extend Metro-North service to Albany, which includes a stop in Rhinecliff, while Amtrak service frequencies are reduced due to rehabilitation of the East River Tunnels in New York City.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that the new round-trip, connecting Albany, Rhinecliff and Hudson to Grand Central Terminal, will start in Spring 2026. The three stations will get a regularly scheduled one-seat ride to Grand Central for the first time in decades as Amtrak trains traveling from the Hudson Valley have used Penn Station instead of Grand Central for their New York City terminus since 1991.
While critical of Hochul’s plan, Oberacker emphasized that he is not entirely against improving rail service in the Hudson Valley.
“New Yorkers deserve reliable, affordable rail. On paper, extending Metro-North service to Albany and capping Amtrak fares sounds like a win for commuters, students, and small businesses across the Hudson Valley and Capital Region,” Oberacker said in a Friday letter to Hochul. “Promising ideas too often turn into costly letdowns once the MTA gets involved, leaving taxpayers to clean up the mess.”
Senator Peter Oberacker speaks on the floor of the New York State Senate in support of limousine safety legislation on Jan. 31, 2023. (Photo provided)
“I support better rail options done right: transparent budgeting, ironclad protections for taxpayers, and clear lines of accountability,” he said. “What I will not support is yet another Albany ‘trust us’ announcement that morphs into stealth tax hikes, shifting goalposts, or subsidies without oversight.”
As currently planned, the Grand Central to Albany train will depart mid-morning and the Albany to Grand Central train will leave in the afternoon and arrive at Grand Central in time for evening events in New York City. There will be no late-night Metro-North return train to Albany. In addition to the once-daily Metro-North train, Amtrak will restore one round-trip between Albany and Penn Station on Dec. 1, Hochul’s announcement stated. The restored trips are midday departures leaving from Albany at 12:10 p.m. and New York City at 3:15 p.m.
Oberacker questioned Hochul’s administration on what the costs will be to extend Metro-North past Poughkeepsie, such as stations, yards, power, signals, platforms, ADA upgrades, crew bases, and rolling stock.
Oberacker’s letter also inquired about the annual operating and maintenance costs for the Albany round trip and asked about who would pay the shortfall if fares don’t cover expenses. He also questioned what funding sources would be used to fund the trips, and if any state funds designated for upstate or upstate county dollars would be used directly or indirectly for start-up or ongoing costs.
Oberacker also made several demands, asking Hochul not to increase the payroll tax related to the project, and not to include a geographic expansion of the payroll tax into additional upstate counties now or in future phases.
Hochul and other officials have pledged that the MTA payroll tax will not be extended to fund the new Metro-North service.
Amtrak has also committed to a first-of-its-kind price cap on trips between Albany and New York City, with coach seats capped at $99. Hochul had pushed for Amtrak to pause the use of dynamic ticket pricing, which has led to prices as high as $109 for basic Amtrak fare.
Oberacker questioned whether upstate communities will get voting representation on the MTA Board since service will now extend beyond Poughkeepsie.
Oberacker also called on the state to publish a one-page quarterly scorecard with ridership, fare-box recovery, subsidy per passenger, on-time performance, cancellations and net taxpayer cost.
In May, Amtrak began operating a reduced Empire Service schedule to accommodate planned work to the East River Tunnels, which were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. As a result of those cuts, service between Albany-Rensselaer and Penn Station was reduced with the suspension of three trips in each direction..
Oberacker is running in the 19th congressional district against incumbent one-term Democrat Josh Riley.