Albany-Rensselaer (Amtrak station)

Infobox Station
style=Amtrak
name=Albany-Rensselaer

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image_size=250
image_caption=Main waiting area
address=525 East St.
Rensselaer, NY 12144
coordinates=coord|42|38|29|N|73|44|28|W
line= rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Maple Leaf rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Adirondack rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Empire Service rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Ethan Allen rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=Lake Shore Limited
other=Capital District Transportation Authority
platform=
parking=Yes; paid
bicycle=
passengers=774,458
pass_year=2007
pass_percent=1.7
opened=2002
rebuilt=
ADA=Yes
code=ALB
owned=CDTA
zone=
baggage_check=Yes
services=s-rail|title=AmtrakThe Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station is a long-distance rail terminal in Rensselaer, New York, located 1.5 miles from downtown Albany (from which the station gets its name) across the Hudson River. As of 2007, the station was Amtrak's tenth busiest station [ [http://www.amtrak.com/pdf/factsheets/NEWYORK07.pdf Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2006: New York] , Amtrak statistics, accessed February 10, 2008] and is served by many of Amtrak's northeastern routes outside of the Northeast Corridor. These include the Lake Shore Limited, whose Boston and New York branches meet at the station.The current structure dates from September 2002 and features a Coffee Beanery coffeeshop, a newsstand, and a post office. It was designed by the Schenectady, NY architecture firm Stracher Roth Gilmore, with Ryan-Biggs of Troy, NY providing structural engineering services. The new inter-modal station replaced the adjacent 1968 terminal, which is now used as office space by Amtrak. Prior to 1968, trains stopped at Albany's "Union Station", a building located on Broadway that now houses the northeast headquarters of Bank of America (via predecessors Fleet Bank and Norstar Bank). The New York Central Railroad had plans to leave Albany beforehand in part due to the construction of Interstate 787 needing the space where an adjacent rail yard lay, but it was under Penn Central's watch that the move took place. The station was built with three tracks (a fourth was planned, but eliminated due to cost) and the station has been with a less-than-preferable number of tracks since. In late January 2007, however, it was announced that a fourth track would finally be built, and the trains that serve the station will be less prone to delays resulting from limited track capacity. The exisiting fourth track is reserved for freight trains so they can bypass the station.

The Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station is operated by the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), which has three bus routes serving the station. These routes and range of service are as follows:
*14-Rensselaer/Third Street-Amtrak (every 30 minutes weekdays/rush hours, every 60 minutes nights/weekends)
*15-Rensselaer/East Street (8 runs weekdays on 1-2 hour headways)
*24-Albany/Troy via Rensselaer (every 25 minutes rush hours, 50 minutes weekday middays)Car rental and taxi services are also available at the station with the average taxi ride into downtown Albany averaging about $7.

Amtrak Service

"With the exception of the Boston branch of the Lake Shore Limited, all trains have southbound service to Penn Station in New York City.
*Adirondack to Montreal
*Empire Service: all trains to New York (via Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, Yonkers); some westbound to Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
*Ethan Allen Express to Rutland, Vermont
*Lake Shore Limited to Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo, and Chicago
**New York Branch (Train 48/49): Croton-on Hudson, New York (Penn Station)
**Boston Branch (Train 448/449): Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester, Framingham, Boston (Back Bay), Boston (South Station)
*Maple Leaf to Toronto

References

External links

* [http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/albanyny.htm Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)]
* [http://subwaynut.com/amtrak/albany/index.html Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station (The SubwayNut)]