ALBANY — The Albany Times-Union reports that the first of several much-anticipated Turboliner trains should be carrying Capital Region passengers to New York City within three months, but track work that would allow the trains to run at top speed is on hold, state Transportation Commissioner Joseph Boardman said Tuesday.
Boardman discussed prospects for moving the state’s high-speed rail program forward after meeting Monday with Amtrak President David Gunn and other rail officials.
Although the talks touched on many issues related Amtrak’s survival, the still-idle Turboliners were discussed, Boardman said, and “what it really got down to was that Amtrak believes they can get the turbos in service in the next 30 to 90 days.”
Also Tuesday, Amtrak announced a series of permanent fare reductions on many long-distance routes, including the Lake Shore Limited between Albany and Chicago. Amtrak is also offering annual winter specials that will further reduce fares on all routes.
“The goal is to entice travelers to travel on Amtrak by offering lower coach fares and, in some cases, reward people for booking early,” spokesman Dan Stessel said.
Boardman said he urged Gunn to get the turbo trains rolling as soon as possible. Two of seven 1970s-era diesel-turbine trains being reconditioned by Super Steel Schenectady under a $74.4 million state contract have been delivered to Amtrak’s Rensselaer maintenance shop, and DOT contends that the first is ready for service.
Amtrak officials say they need more time to train crews, develop a stock of spare parts and obtain maintenance manuals before running any of the trains.
“I think they need to move faster, and I told them that,” Boardman said, but he trusts Gunn’s assurances the trains will be running in one to three months.
Some $140 million in work on tracks, bridges and crossings, needed to enable the trains to operate at a full speed of 125 mph is uncertain. Without a federal commitment to funding Amtrak at the $1.2 billion a year level Gunn says is needed, the national passenger railroad is in no position to pay its share of any track work or predict whether it will, Boardman said.
“Amtrak is like a train at night in the fog,” Boardman said. “The headlights are on and they’re moving, but with the high beams on, they reflect back, and we don’t know exactly where the White House or Congress are on this.”
“It was a very good discussion focused on what is needed to get Amtrak stabilized,” Stessel said. “It’s in the interest of New York state for Amtrak to be stable and have adequate federal support.”
Amtrak’s lower fares, with reductions of up to 25 percent, will be available for coach travel on most of the railroad’s long-distance routes. The price of a ticket from Albany-Rensselaer to Chicago, for example, now will cost $64 instead of $84.
Meanwhile, a winter promotion will allow passengers a free ticket for a companion or a 25 percent discount on a single ticket. Those discounts are available on tickets purchased through Feb. 15 and are good for travel from Jan. 10 to Aug. 18.