(The following story by Christen Gowan , Juliette Price and Eric Anderson appeared on the Albany Times-Union website on July 30, 2009.)
RENSSELAER, N.Y. — Amtrak resumed train service to New York this afternoon.
Trains between the Rensselaer Rail Station and Penn Station were canceled this morning because of flooding from Wednesday night’s storm.
CSX Transportation, the owner of the railroad used by Amtrak along the Hudson River, closed the tracks to inspect the track and signal systems because of flooding near Hudson.
Amtrak says passengers should still expect residual delays along the route.
Stranded travelers changed their plans this morning as they waited for service to resume at the Rensselaer Rail Station.
“I needed to be back for a noon meeting but that’s not going to happen,” said Dick Smith, 50, head of sales and marketing for a technology firm. He had planned to catch the 8:05 a.m. Amtrak train to New York, but now plans to leave at 1:30 p.m.
Tony Amodio, 44, from Ballston Lake, was heading to Virginia to watch his daughter compete in a national softball tournament. He hoped to be on the 5:10 a.m. train and make it to Virginia in time to see her second game.
“I think I’m going to miss that one,” he said as he waited at the station this morning.
Returning to New York from a visit to her Loudonville home, Joan Rosenstock planned to take a 10 a.m. train.
“It puts a major damper in my plans to be in the office at 2,” she said.
Megabus, which competes with Amtrak on the Albany – New York City route, with four departures a day from the Rensselaer train station, filled its first two departures to New York, said Edward Hodgson, director of Megabus for North America.
It also has put double-decker buses on the afternoon departures to increase capacity.
Hodgson touted the wireless Internet service offered on Megabus and said the company hoped to win over train passengers.
“We’d obviously love them to come and travel with us regularly,” he said.