Upstate Status Secure: MTA not coming to Capital Region

An announced MTA train running from Albany to New York has been canceled as Amtrak resumes full service between the Empire State Capital and its largest city. 

The announcement was made in a statement released by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on January 27. In it, she said that because of the full restoration, Amtrak would no longer sanction the MTA trains to run between Poughkeepsie and Albany. 

Hochul didn’t close the door to an MTA line to Albany, however, especially given the excitement surrounding the initial announcement. 

“I remain fully committed to short and long-term proposals to bring better transit – including expanded Metro-North service if the demand exists – beyond Poughkeepsie and into the rest of the Hudson Valley and Capital Region,” Governor Hochul said. “New Yorkers rely on high quality rail transit like no other state, and I will always fight to save commuters time and to make service better.” 

The limited service didn’t stop ridership on Amtrak in 2025. While New York City makes up 84% of all Amtrak travel in the state with 13,037,414 people getting on and off at Penn Station in 2025, the Capital region dominates the rest of the state. 

The five stations in the Capital Region  — Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Amsterdam and Glenns Falls — account for a combined 1,142,152 people transiting through on Amtrak. Albany makes up the majority of this total with 920,779 people transiting through. 

In addition to ridership, Amtrak spent $16,074,743 on station improvements in the Capital Region in 2025 with $9,131,070 being spent on Saratoga Springs alone — the most of any station in the state.