The Albany-Rensselaer Rail Station is a long-distance rail terminal in Rensselaer, New York, located 1.5 miles from downtown Albany across the Hudson River. , the station was Amtrak's tenth-busiest station. It is served by many of Amtrak's northeastern routes outside of the Northeast Corridor, including the Lake Shore Limited, whose Boston and New York branches meet at the station.

Operated by the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), the current structure was completed in September 2002. It features a Coffee Beanery coffeeshop, a newsstand, and a post office. It was designed by the Schenectady architecture firm Stracher Roth Gilmore, with Ryan-Biggs of Troy providing structural engineering, and Erdman Anthony of Troy providing facilities engineering.

The intermodal station replaced the adjacent 1968 terminal, which is now used as office space by Amtrak. Before 1968, trains stopped at Union Station in Albany itself. That building, located on Broadway, 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, in part because Interstate 787 needed the space occupied by a rail yard, but the move took place under Penn Central's watch.

Today's station was built with three tracks (a fourth was planned, but eliminated due to cost) and the station has had fewer than preferable tracks since. In January 2007, it was announced that a fourth track would be built, allowing freight trains to bypass the station and reduce delays.

Transportation services

Amtrak

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

Bus

The intercity Megabus operates regular service to New York City and Ridgewood, NJ.

The local CDTA runs three bus routes that serve the station:

• 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)

Automotive

Rental cars and taxis are also available at the station; as of 2009, a taxi ride to downtown Albany costs $10.75.

Gallery

Image:Albany-Renssalaer station interior.jpg|Interior of the current stationImage:Old Albany Amtrak station.jpg|Old station located next door to the current station

References

1. Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2006: New York, Amtrak statistics, accessed February 10, 2008

External links

• Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak Station (The SubwayNut)