Empire State Passengers Association

May 2026 New York State Ridership stats!

With the full schedule of 13 daily Hudson Valley round-trips operated throughout May, the positive year-over-year results are clearly evident.

View the current New York State schedules here - https://www.esparail.com/travel-information/schedules/

However, the effects of the overall capacity limitations due to the lack of available equipment continues to constrain ridership and sold-out trains frequently occur, particularly on weekends and around holidays. Passengers planning to travel over the upcoming busy summer months should purchase tickets as far in advance as possible!

Click the graphic for best viewing!

NYS Route Definitions:
- Empire Service - Passengers on New York To Albany-Rensselaer
trains plus all passengers whose entire trip is contained in the New York to Albany-Rensselaer section of the Corridor (for example passengers on the Maple Leaf and Ethan Allen, who only travel on the portion Albany and south), but not passengers on the Lake Shore Limited.
- Maple Leaf - Passengers who are on board trains #63, 64, 280, 284, 281, 283 and travel west of Albany. This count excludes passengers who travel on these trains only on the section south of Albany.
- Adirondack - Passengers on Trains 68 and 69 who travel north of Albany. This count excludes passengers who travel on these trains only on the section south of Albany.
- Ethan Allen Express - Passengers on Trains 290 and 291 who travel north of Albany. This count excludes passengers who travel on these trains only on the section south of Albany.
- Lake Shore Limited - New York/Boston - Albany - Buffalo - Cleveland - Chicago Train. Any passenger boarding Train 48/448 and 49/449 is counted as a Lake Shore Limited passenger.

The existing section of track between Providence and New Haven is too curvy and with significant segments likely to be underwater in 30 years or so without major investment. An earlier attempt to consider designing a more inland route ran into lots of opposition in Connecticut.

Rail News - Amtrak launches New Haven-Providence corridor study. For Railroad Career Professionals Railroad industry news about: Amtrak, NEC, Northeast Corridor, New Haven to Providence line, passenger rail, study. From the editors of Progressive Railroading Magazine

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1P32oXRWdh/

Penn Station in the busiest rail station in the Western Hemisphere, serving Amtrak, NJ Transit, and the LIRR across 21 tracks.

With the redevelopment on Penn Station underway, the idea of through-running is receiving increased attention, which would allow commuter trains to travel through Penn Station, instead of terminating there.

Join Effective Transit Alliance Executive Director Blair Lorenzo, NYU Wagner Dean and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Polly Trottenberg, and Regional Plan Association President and CEO Tom Wright at a community townhall to discuss if through-running could help un-clog Penn Station.

Amtrak Special Advisor Andy Byford will deliver opening remarks.

Register here: bpbhs.com/ThroughRunning

Amtrak sent a letter to the MTA on Monday to “reinforce” its offer for the New York transit agency to sign on as a “fully involved” partner in the federal government’s plan to renovate Penn Station. The letter, from Amtrak special advisor Andy Byford to MTA Chair Janno Lieber, said the MTA has made a “repeated choice over the past year to opt out of participating in the project.” The Trump administration took over the Penn Station rebuild from the MTA last year, and gave control of the project to Amtrak.

Amtrak calls for MTA to partner on the Penn Station rebuild it once led Amtrak senior adviser Andy Byford wrote in a letter to MTA Chair Janno Lieber that the feds will move forward with the Penn Station project with or without the cooperation of New York transit agency.