Rensselaer Rail Station,[1] signed as Albany–Rensselaer on its platforms, is a train station in Rensselaer, New York, located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from downtown Albany across the Hudson River.[1] Operated by the Capital District Transportation Authority, it serves as Amtrak's primary station for the Capital District. To emphasize the station's location across the river from Albany, as well as to distinguish from the Rensselaer station in Indiana, Amtrak refers to the station as "Albany–Rensselaer."
As of 2020[update] it was Amtrak's ninth-busiest station, as well as the busiest to serve a metro area with a population smaller than 2 million,[5] a distinction it has held since at least 2010.[6] This is primarily due to the large number of passengers who commute to and from New York City.
A Penn Central Empire Service train arriving at Albany-Rensselaer in 1970
The present station is the third on the site. The first station was built in 1968, and the second in 1980.[6] Before 1968, trains stopped at Union Station in Albany. 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.
The 1968 building was torn down in order to expand the station's parking facility. The current structure was completed in September 2002 and opened on September 22.[7] It was designed by the Schenectady architecture firm Stracher–Roth Gilmore and the New York firm Vollmer Associates, with Ryan-Biggs of Troy providing structural engineering, Sage/Engineering Associates providing MEP engineering services, Erdman Anthony of Troy providing facilities engineering, and constructed by U. W. Marx/Bovis joint venture.[8] The station was originally intended to have four tracks, but was built with only three due to cost concerns, leaving the station with fewer than preferable tracks.[7] In October 2008, it was announced that a fourth track would be built after the two previous terminal buildings were demolished; a contract for that work was assigned at the same time.[7] Design work was proceeding on the fourth track as of February 2010, but actual construction was placed on hold pending resolution of funding issues and demolition of the two terminal buildings to the north.[7]
On October 27, 2010, demolition of the two other buildings began.[6] In a December 4, 2012 press release, Amtrak indicated that installation of the fourth track would begin in 2013,[9] and the project was completed in March 2016.[10]
In March 2020, Adirondack and Ethan Allen Express service was suspended north of Albany–Rensselaer as part of a round of service reductions in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[11]Ethan Allen Express service was restored in July 2021, and Adirondack service was restored in April 2023.[12]
The Berkshire Flyer began running on July 8, 2022, providing direct service to Pittsfield on summer weekends. The train reverses direction at this station.[13]
The two floor station features a large main lobby that contains a coffee shop, a newsstand, and a post office. Trains call at two high-level island platforms serving two tracks in each direction. The platforms are connected to the main building by an aerial walkway that is accessed by stairs, escalator and elevator.[14] Each 605-foot (184 m) platform can accommodate up to 7 Amfleet cars, not including an engine.
Two Amtrak trains at Albany–Rensselaer station, as viewed from the parking deck over the platforms
The station's busiest route is the Empire Service, with seven round trips to New York City, five of which originate and terminate here. It is the descendant of the New York Central's express trains running along the eastern leg of the famed "Water Level Route" to Chicago.
With the exception of the Boston branch of the Lake Shore Limited, all trains have southbound service to Penn Station in New York City.
Empire Service: all trains to New York (via Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, Croton-on-Hudson, Yonkers); most northbound trains terminate here; two trains per day continue to Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
Most trains that do not terminate at Albany swap their engines there: diesel GE P42DC locomotives are usually used on routes north and west of Albany, while dual modeP32AC-DM locomotives are used south of Albany because non-electric locomotives are not permitted in Penn Station. The P42DC is readied for a train coming northbound from New York City.
In the coming years all equipment will be replaced with Amtrak Airo trainsets, the railroad's branding of its combination of Siemens Venture passenger cars and a Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotive.[15][16] This would eliminate the time-consuming locomotive changes at Albany–Rensselaer.
The intercity Megabus operates regular service to New York City and Ridgewood, N.J. Temporary Amtrak Thruway services due to track service work also serve the station from its bus bays.
CDTA: 114, 214[1]
