(The following story by Eric Anderson appeared on the Albany Times-Union website on December 16.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Amtrak customers on the busy Empire Corridor will see service return to normal today after repairs to an ice-damaged signal system were completed.
The passenger railroad has had to cancel a half-dozen or more trains each way daily because of the damage, which was concentrated between Rhinecliff and Rensselaer.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said Tuesday that trains were operating on a single track as crews for CSX Corp., which owns the tracks, worked to fix the signals.
The trip between Rensselaer and Rhinecliff, which typically takes 30 minutes, stretched to as long as two hours, Cole said.
Amtrak said CSX indicated late Tuesday that only slight delays were expected today. Amtrak said it expected to operate all scheduled service.
“Anytime we have to cancel any service, it’s an enormous impact both from a revenue standpoint and a passenger service standpoint,” Cole said.
The ice storm crippled Amtrak service not only in the upstate Empire Corridor to New York City, but also in parts of northern New England.
Tree limbs laden with ice blocked tracks and disabled signals. While the tracks were cleared, restoring the signals took longer.
Amtrak combined some trains and canceled others.
CSX told Amtrak each day how many trains the tracks could handle and at what speeds they could operate.
Damage occurred along tracks that have been upgraded to allow some of the fastest speeds on the trip between the Capital Region and New York City.