Schenectady station

Schenectady, NY
Station entrance in January 2017
Location 332 Erie Boulevard
Schenectady, New York
Coordinates 42°48′53″N 73°56′34″W / 42.8146°N 73.9428°W / 42.8146; -73.9428Coordinates: 42°48′53″N 73°56′34″W / 42.8146°N 73.9428°W / 42.8146; -73.9428
Owned by CDTA
Line(s) Empire Corridor (Hudson Subdivision)
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 3
Connections Capital District Transportation Authority
Construction
Parking Yes; free
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code SDY
History
Opened 1979
Rebuilt Late 2018 (under construction)
Electrified No
Traffic
Passengers (2017) 54,388[1] Decrease 3.3%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Montreal
Adirondack
toward New York
toward Rutland
Ethan Allen Express
Empire Service
Maple Leaf
toward Chicago
Lake Shore Limited
Former services
Former service at Colonie-Schenectady
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
toward Chicago
Lake Shore
1971-1972
Former services at Schenectady Union Station
New York Central Railroad
toward Chicago
Main Line
toward New York
Hoffman's
toward Chicago
Carman
toward New York

Schenectady is an Amtrak intercity train station in Schenectady, New York. Passengers currently use a temporary station without ticket sales near the station site as a new station is constructed for opening in 2018. The former station, constructed in 1979 and demolished in 2017 was built under the railroad tracks with an elevator and staircase leading to a railway platform between the two tracks.

History

Postcard of Schenectady Union Station

The original Schenectady Union Station was constructed in 1908 by the New York Central Railroad and was in service until it was closed in 1969 due to low ridership and was replaced with Colonie-Schenectady near NY-155 several miles to the east in Colonie.[2] The Colonie-Schenectady station was a small building with a parking lot. The 1908 station was demolished in 1971.

In 1979, a new Schenectady station was built on the site of the former Union Station.[3][4] It was made possible through a partnership among Amtrak, the State of New York and the City of Schenectady. The state funded the rehabilitation of the tracks at $3.9 million, while Amtrak paid two-thirds of the $881,000 cost of the depot with the state covering the rest. The city donated the land.[2][5] Passengers were able to board at the new station beginning in October 1978, though no customer service agents were present until July 29, 1979, and the station did not fully open until August 8. The new station decimated ridership at Colonie-Schenectady, which was closed on September 9, 1979 to allow trains to operate at full speed between Albany and Schenectady.[2][6] The 1979 station was closed and demolished in 2017 in preparation for a new station to be constructed on the site planned to open in 2018.

Replacement station

The 1979-built station was demolished in 2017 and will be replaced by a larger station in 2018

A replacement structure known as the Schenectady Intermodal Station is under construction on the site of the existing station. It will serve both Amtrak and local transit service.[7] The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) received a US $4.2 million grant for the construction of the planned structure in October 2010.[7]

By 2014, funding from federal and state sources for the new station had reached $15 million and the CDTA had largely completed design work for a four-story station building, though by 2015 it had been scaled down to two stories.[8][9] Track construction was planned to begin in the spring of 2014, but was delayed until fall, with station construction to go out to bid in 2014 for completion in 2017.[8][9] In August 2015, the Metroplex Development Authority sold Amtrak 2,400 square feet (220 m2) of parking lot that was intended to allow for construction of a temporary station to begin immediately, followed by the demolition of the 1979 building and construction of the replacement station.[9]

In late March 2016, NYSDOT announced it would seek a second round of bids for building the new station, after the only bid from the first round was $24.9 million, far more than the budgeted $14.6 million.[10] The decision delayed the estimated opening of the new facility to sometime in 2018.[10] NYSDOT then paid a contractor $900,000 to redesign the station to reduce costs. In July 2016, NYSDOT announced that it would divide the project into two contracts for rebidding.[11] Demolition of the existing station, along with repairs to the viaduct, was bid in February 2017. Three bids were received, with the low bid within budget at $5.4 million.[12]

The 1979 station was closed and demolished in July, 2017. In the interim, a temporary stairwell and platform with a shelter were erected at a parking lot north of the station site to serve as a temporary station.[13] Construction of the replacement station had been bid in Fall 2017 for completion at the end of 2018.[14][12] The new station will be two floors with a golden dome topped with a weather vane shaped like New York state and have large arched windows and expanded seating. The inside will feature images of the Erie Canal and the former American Locomotive Company train yard and include other memorabilia to illustrate the city's history. The new design also includes retail space, charging stations and digital display boards to provide information. It will be ADA compliant.[15] The new station is expected to open in November 2018. [16]

The construction of the new Schenectady station is part of upgrades being made to the Empire Corridor and is being built shortly after new stations were completed in Niagara Falls and Rochester.

Station layout

The station has one low-level island platform. An additional track exists east of Track 2, which does not serve the station nor carry revenue passenger service.

G Street level Exit/entrance, station building, parking, buses
P
Platform level		 Track 2 ← Adirondack toward Montreal (Saratoga Springs)
← Ethan Allen Express toward Rutland (Saratoga Springs)
← Empire Service toward Niagara Falls, NY (Amsterdam)
← Maple Leaf toward Toronto (Amsterdam)
← Lake Shore Limited toward Chicago (Utica)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Track 1 Adirondack, Ethan Allen Express, Empire Service, Maple Leaf toward New York City (Albany-Rensselaer) →
Lake Shore Limited toward New York City or Boston (Albany-Rensselaer) →

References

  1. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, State of New York" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Goldstein, Stephen (10 August 1979). "Amtrak Station at Colonie will close Sept. 9". Schenectady Gazette – via Google News.
  3. ↑ "Schenectady, NY (SDY)". Great American Stations (Amtrak). Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "SCHENECTADY NEW YORK (SDY)". TrainWeb. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Empire Service Trains Now Stop At Schenectady (Amtrak NEWS)". Amtrak History & Archives. November 1978. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "New Schenectady Station Opens, State, City, Amtrak Cooperate On Project". Amtrak NEWS. Amtrak. 6 (10): 10. September 1979.
  7. 1 2 "Schenectady Intermodal Station Project Funded". Great American Stations (Amtrak). Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  8. 1 2 "Construction of new Schenectady Amtrak station set for 2015". Trains Magazine. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 "Land sale approved for new Schenectady station". Trains Magazine. 10 August 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  10. 1 2 "State wants new bids for Schenectady train station". Albany Business Review. March 30, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  11. ↑ Williams, Stephen (19 July 2016). "NY: Schenectady Train Station Project Split in Two". McClathcy News Service. Retrieved 20 July 2016 – via Mass Transit Magazine.
  12. 1 2 Williams, Stephen (March 30, 2017). "Schenectady train station demolition draws 3 bids". Daily Gazette. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  13. ↑ Anderson, Eric (June 30, 2017). "Schenectady Amtrak station closed; awaiting replacement". Albany (N.Y.) Times Union. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  14. ↑ Anderson, Eric (15 July 2016). "Schenectady Amtrak station projects seek bids". Albany Times-Union. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  15. ↑ Samuels, Bret (July 11, 2017). "Cuomo unveils new Schenectady train station design". Daily Gazette. Schenectady, N.Y.: Gazette Newspapers. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  16. ↑ Beam, Andrew (September 13, 2018). "Dome placed atop Schenectady's new Amtrak station". Daily Gazette.
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