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Station and protect the signal system from weather disruptions. The project also removed signal poles along the Hudson River, clearing the view for Amtrak passengers. In other improvements, new flashers, bells and gates were installed at 12 highway rail crossings between Poughkeepsie and Albany for improved safety.
A $ 368 million project is building grade-separated tracks dedicated to Amtrak service between Hell Gate Bridge and Penn Station in New York City. The work will help speed passenger trains through Harold Interlocking in Queens. The interlocking is the busiest passenger rail switch yard in North America, navigated each weekday by 136 Amtrak trains and 647 commuter trains.
A $ 91 million project is constructing a second track and installing a new signal system from the Livingston Avenue Bridge over the Hudson River at Albany and Troy to just west of Schenectady Station. This 17-mile section is the worst bottleneck on the Empire Corridor. Amtrak passenger trains and freight trains share a single track here, allowing trains to travel only in one direction at a time. Once completed in summer 2017, the new track will allow trains to pass each other, rather than wait for a single rail line to clear.
A $ 50 million project at the Albany-Rensselaer Station in Rensselaer County is updating tracks, platforms, and the entire signal system there. The work, scheduled for completion in 2017, adds a fourth passenger track that will accommodate long trains and let more trains into the station to ease delays.
A $ 23 million project, scheduled for completion in early 2019,
New Moynihan Train Hall housing both Amtrak and LIRR ticketing and waiting areas.
Amtrak. com
New 250,000 square foot Moynihan Train Hall, housing passenger facilities for the Long Island Rail Road and Amtrak.
will ease congestion and delays at Syracuse Station by upgrading two side tracks, increasing train speed limits, and upgrading the signal system through the area. The station is very close to CSX’ s busy DeWitt Freight Yard, which causes conflicts between passenger and freight trains.
New York City’ s Pennsylvania Station is set to undergo a substantial renovation and expansion— in order to be reborn as the Pennsylvania Station / Farley Complex in December 2020.
In September 2016, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed a fast-track plan to create a state-of-the-art train hall and retail space in the James A. Farley Building, also known as the General Post Office, on the west side of Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, across the street from Penn Station. The new Moynihan Train Hall, which will serve as Amtrak’ s and Long Island Railroad’ s future station, will include office space and restaurants along with shopping. The plan also calls for renovating Penn Station’ s current underground passageways and platforms.
The highlight of the $ 1.6 billion Farley Building renovation will be a massive train hall beneath a one-acre glass skylight mounted on the building’ s steel trusses. The new station will accommodate 30,000 Amtrak passengers and 230,000 Long Island Rail Road riders daily.
The reason for the overhaul is that 600,000 travelers and commuters currently move through Penn Station each day— triple the number it was designed to accommodate. The plan is designed to ease crowds within and traffic surrounding Penn Station, which also houses New Jersey Transit trains and two subway lines. Along with reducing vehicle congestion and pollution in the area, the project is expected to create thousands of new jobs and increase tourism.
For more information about New York State’ s Empire Corridor projects, please visit DOT’ s website at www. dot. ny. gov / programs / high-speed-rail / arr-rail-projects.
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