History
The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad opened a line from Albany to Schenectady in 1831. The Utica and Schenectady Railroad opened from Schenectady west to Utica in 1836, including the present Hudson Subdivision west of Schenectady. On the east side of the Hudson River, the Hudson River Railroad opened from New York City north to Rensselaer in 1851. The original Hudson River crossing was the Hudson River Bridge, but the Livingston Avenue Bridge, the current crossing, opened in 1902. The entire line became part of the New York Central, and later Penn Central, and then Conrail, through leases, mergers, and takeovers. The line was assigned to CSX in the 1999 breakup of Conrail.
In October 2011, CSX and Amtrak reached an agreement for Amtrak to lease the line between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady, with Amtrak assuming maintenance and capital responsibilities. CSX will retain freight rights over the line, which hosts only five freights a day. Amtrak will use federal funds to double track the line between Rennselaer and Schenectady, and add an additional station track at the Albany-Rennsalaer station. Amtrak sees the lease as key to improving Empire Service speeds and frequencies. Amtrak officially assumed control on December 1, 2012, with trains in the section now dispatched by the Amtrak Control and Command Center in New York City.
Read more about this topic: Hudson Subdivision
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