(The following story by Eric Anderson appeared on the Albany Times Union website on September 24, 2010.)
RENSSELAER, N.Y. — Amtrak’s dome car, a two-story passenger car with the second deck basically a glass canopy that allows panoramic views of the surrounding scenery, was back on the Adirondack passenger train Thursday afternoon, making its way from Albany-Rensselaer to Montreal.
It’s a particularly appropriate route for the car, given the train’s route, which skirts Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.
The railroad each autumn brings the car here to show off the seasonal foliage. This year, Amtrak also brought its newly named coordinator of digital and social media, who tweeted about the trip as the train made its way north.
Because of its height, the dome car, which in its early days was used on the Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle, won’t fit through tunnels and under bridges south of the Capital Region. But it works quite well north of here.
Amtrak is using its Twitter and Facebook accounts to keep passengers informed when there are delays and other problems, and it also monitors tweets, as the short messages are called, to learn about problems or other issues.
It also has introduced free wireless Internet access on its Acela trains in the Northeast Corridor, but spokesman Cliff Cole said it’s “still way down the road” for the Empire Corridor and other routes.
But, “the goal is to have it on every Amtrak train,” he added.
Meanwhile, state transportation officials say New York is putting a high priority on passenger rail improvements.
“Trains are the future of passenger travel in this state and the country,” said DOT spokeswoman Deborarh Sturm Rausch, touting their comfort and their economic and environmental benefits.
The state provides an operational subsidy for the Adirondack north of the Capital Region, and the service has been growing in popularity.
Amtrak officials expect ridership to set a record this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, with as many as 120,000 passengers.
The dome car will operate northbound on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays, returning to Albany on Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays. The car is idle on Wednesdays.
The service will operate through late October.