Amtrak, New York DOT settle

This is old news by now, but just to keep us current, here is the crux of it from Progressive Railroading.

Amtrak and the New York State Department of Transportation recently settled a contract dispute and related litigation over a former state DOT program to develop high-speed rail service from New York City to the Capital District using Amtrak’s RTL Turboliner trains.

Under terms of the settlement, Amtrak with pay the state $20 million, and the state and railroad with jointly invest $10 million to improve infrastructure on the Albany-to-New York City Empire Corridor. One of the improvements calls for upgrading track near the George Washington Bridge to improve service and reduce travel times along the corridor.

“This agreement puts to rest a long-standing dispute and enables the state and Amtrak to move forward cooperatively to improve passenger-rail service and the state’s rail infrastructure,” said New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a prepared statement.

So what happens to the turbo trains? The Times Union filed a complete report.

For now, New York and Amtrak will split custody of seven Rohr Turboliners, which an Amtrak spokeswoman said could eventually be headed for new careers on other railroads or even in the movies.

Under the terms of the agreement announced Wednesday by state Transportation Commissioner Astrid Glynn and Amtrak President Alexander Kummant, Amtrak will keep three reconditioned Turboliners it moved to storage in Delaware.

New York will keep four other turbos in various states of rehabilitation.

The state and Amtrak will share the proceeds of any eventual sale.

Filed under: Amtrak, Passenger Rail Transportatio Policy, Regional USA Passenger Rail