(The following article by Eric Anderson was posted on the Albany Times-Union website on September 9.)
ALBANY, N.Y. — Cooler weather and the completion of track work are improving on-time performance for Amtrak trains across New York state.
Trains that had been running one to two hours late earlier this summer have been operating closer to schedule as CSX Transportation completes track maintenance and improvement projects.
Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black said on Thursday that CSX expects to finish work on a stretch of track between Syracuse and St. Johnsville, in the Mohawk Valley, by Sept. 22. The project originally was scheduled for completion on Sept. 14.
Meanwhile, speed restrictions that are placed on trains when temperatures top 90 have been lifted with the arrival of cooler weather in recent weeks. Earlier this summer, the high temperatures were adding another 20 to 30 minutes to scheduled running times.
On Thursday evening, Amtrak’s Maple Leaf train, which had left Buffalo 18 minutes behind schedule, was running 26 minutes late when it reached Utica.
Just one month ago, trains from Buffalo to Albany were running as much as 2 hours and 47 minutes behind schedule.
CSX Transportation officials couldn’t be reached this week for comment on the track work or whether it would help improve operating speeds. The upstate corridor has become more congested as freight traffic has grown.
Meanwhile, Amtrak is facing higher fuel and electricity costs in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
“We are being adversely affected and our fuel prices are increasing,” Black said Thursday.