The Finger Lakes Has Over 1 Million Tourists-Yet Amtrak Stations are 5

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Gregory Miller von Richter

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Money has been secured for a station stop on the Empire Service.. Six Amtrak Trains pass by the Finger lakes at 79 mph. The distance between Rochester NY and Syracuse NY is 87 miles without a stop [one of the longest runs without a stop]. Over 1 million tourists visit each year. The Gov. of New York wants folks from The NY Metropolitain Area to visit upstate [and enjoy Finger Lakes Wines] Tourism would grow if folks could get here without a $100 cab fare. If more tourists could get to the Finger Lakes with reliable and reasonably priced travel more Finger Lakers would have jobs in the tourist business. With all of the above Amtrak has consistantly held back from a station stop at Lyons NY which lies in the Center of the 87 mile nonstop run. Why is Amtrak holding back the development of the tourist business in a world famous Wine Region. There is no excuse for Amtrak to continue to deny a stop and hold back economic development.--Please review this clip from Senator Nozzolios offfice-----

Growing Jobs in the Finger Lakes

By: Senator Mike Nozzolio

The Finger Lakes wine and tourism industry has become a driving force in our local economy. According to a study by Oxford Economics, in addition to creating over 50,000 jobs in the Finger Lakes, the industry has a $ 2.7 billion dollar economic impact on our region.

Recently, I had the opportunity to join with members of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail to celebrate their organization’s 30th anniversary and the continued success of our local, job-producing wine and tourism industry. We can take great pride in the fact the Finger Lakes-Lake Ontario region is now the center of New York’s booming wine industry and home to more than 150 wineries.

As State Senator, I have worked aggressively with local entrepreneurs, farmers, educators and businesses to create jobs here in our region and to promote the continued development of the Finger Lakes wine and tourism sector. This collective effort to grow and support this industry was recently recognized by the "Wine Spectator" magazine, which awarded top marks to a number of local wineries and noted that the Finger Lakes is “quickly becoming an excellent source for quality and value." Undoubtedly, this important recognition will spur continued tourism, investment and job creation in our area.

Assemblyman Brian Kolb and I were successful in our efforts to secure $8 million in New York State funding for a reconstruction of research facilities at the New York State Experiment Station and the construction of the Finger Lakes Viticulture Center. The Viticulture Center will be constructed in the Cornell Ag Tech Park, adjacent to the Cornell Experiment station in Geneva, where world class agricultural research has played a significant role in the growth and development of the New York wine industry.

After years of planning and hard work, I am pleased to announce that construction of the Finger Lakes Viticulture Center will begin this summer. This new, state-of-the-art Viticulture Center will serve as a permanent location for Finger Lakes Community College’s new Viticulture and Wine Technology program - the only program of its kind in the Northeast. The Center will include a world-class winemaking lab, grape crushing pad and rooms for storing and aging wine, classroom space and a small teaching vineyard. The Ag-Tech Park location provides significant potential for the expansion of the Viticulture program in the future through its direct partnership and affiliation with Cornell University. Finger Lakes Community College's Viticulture and Wine Technology curriculum will offer students a unique opportunity to be trained for employment opportunities for a variety of jobs in New York’s wineries. If they so desire, these students can also in the future accept a guaranteed transfer to Cornell University’s undergraduate and graduate viticulture programs.

As the art of winemaking continues to gain in popularity, we are witnessing an unprecedented growth in the number of wineries in the Finger Lakes Region. As one of the fastest growing job-producers in New York, the need for individuals with the specialized knowledge and skills to pursue a career in the wine and grape industry, continues to increase. The new Finger Lakes Viticulture Center will enable our State’s future winemakers, grape growers, vineyard workers, winery managers and all associated with the wine industry to study at the same location where some of the most innovative agricultural research in the world is taking place, thereby supporting our local economy and creating well paying jobs.

We extend our special thanks to President Barbara Risser and the faculty, staff and students of Finger Lakes Community College for their support as we fought to secure this important State investment. We also thank Cornell University President David Skorton, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean Kathryn Boor and New York State Experiment Station Director Tom Burr for their support and strong commitment to the growth and expansion of the Experiment Station and the Ag Tech Park.

For more information on Finger Lakes Community College’s Viticulture and Wine Technology Program, please visit www.flcc.edu/academics/viticulture or call (585) 785-1000.
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I'd be rather surprised if Amtrak was unwilling to stop if Finger Lakes put forward the money for a station or if New York state said that it wanted Amtrak to stop there (in fact, I don't think they have a choice with New York's funded trains). Building a free station is something else however.
 
In theory, Amtrak could (presuming CSX cooperation, of course) stick a stop on the route since it's covered by the LSL and the Maple Leaf and would probably like to. My best guess is that it's either the cost of the station/lack of funding (is there a pre-existing station building that could be used, or would a new one be mandatory?) or CSX non-cooperation (since I'm reasonably certain that CSX is worried that NY is going to want to add more trains, and slipping another 25-50k riders on that line might be enough to begin a push there).
 
If someone puts up the money for a station, I'm sure Amtrak would love to make a stop.

I'd be rather surprised if Amtrak was unwilling to stop if Finger Lakes put forward the money for a station or if New York state said that it wanted Amtrak to stop there (in fact, I don't think they have a choice with New York's funded trains). Building a free station is something else however.
Money has been secured for a station stop on the Empire Service.. Six Amtrak Trains pass by the Finger lakes at 79 mph. The distance between Rochester NY and Syracuse NY is 87 miles without a stop [one of the longest runs without a stop]. Over 1 million tourists visit each year. The Gov. of New York wants folks from The NY Metropolitain Area to visit upstate [and enjoy Finger Lakes Wines] Tourism would grow if folks could get here without a $100 cab fare. If more tourists could get to the Finger Lakes with reliable and reasonably priced travel more Finger Lakers would have jobs in the tourist business. With all of the above Amtrak has consistantly held back from a station stop at Lyons NY which lies in the Center of the 87 mile nonstop run. Why is Amtrak holding back the development of the tourist business in a world famous Wine Region. There is no excuse for Amtrak to continue to deny a stop and hold back economic development.--Please review this clip from Senator Nozzolios offfice-----
:huh:
 
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The last I heard the catch was that CSX wanted platforms on both main tracks or on a siding, so that they don't have to run passengers trains against the flow of traffic on the only track that has a platform. And that of course makes the cost of the whole project become much higher than what money is available. So it is not like it is Amtrak's problem exclusively. In any case after October it is almost entirely New York State's problem as things stand.
 
Lyons is quite far from the center of activity in the Finger Lakes.

Unfortunately, serving most of the more important locations (Ithaca? Cortland? Watkins Glen? Auburn? Geneva? Seneca Falls? Canandaigua?) would require either improvement of railway lines, or full-scale rebuilding of railway lines.

A stop in Lyons wouldn't be a *bad* thing, but it would make a lot more sense to extend an Empire Service frequency (one of the Albany terminators) through to Geneva. Which is more expensive.
 
Many have commented that Amtrak would stop if a station was provided. In Senator Nozzolio's newsletters he has constantly stated that he secured $1 million dollars 13 years ago. In my opinion that would be just a start. When I was a boy we put my grandmother on the train just before Thanksgiving so she could have the holiday with my uncle and cousins in Chicago. Last I knew that poured concrete platform is still there but in rough shape and buried in the weeds. After the Lyons Station was closed about 1963-64 the crossocer track from the eastbound mailine was removed and the track from the west end of the station track was removed which went about a mile and joined the 'Wye" track from the Lyons secondary track that comes up from the south. Also the signaling may have been removed. Just that alone eats up the $1 million and then some. Many new stations have been built by NY State and Amtrak. Building stations is an ordainary thing for Amtrak and New york State. Why is it The Finger Lakes is never part of rail expansion? Over a million tourists a year--and we can't even get a cheap portable building? It's nonsense. Even if the Finger Lakes Lyons Station only had 10% of the tourist business that equals about 100,000 passengers using the Lyons Station. That works out to be about 274 passengers a day with 3 trains in each direction. That makes a total of 6 trains a day and about 45 people per train. Why doesn't someone get this? This is nuts---I have ridden many trains and some Amtrak stations with no agent only have about 1 hundred passengers a year! However they have a stop and we don't. Someone tell me where I am wrong about this.
 
It isn't just the station but thinking beyond the station:

What do people do after they arrive? Getting a rental car at most Amtrak stations is nigh on impossible. People arriving from NYC will need to drive to get anywhere. Rental car companies do not make it obvious how to get a rental car at a train station, plus most "Local" rental outlets (as opposed to airport locations) are 8:00 to 5:00 operations and closed on Sundays. I travel on business weekly and this is my biggest reason I will usually fly over Amtrak - I am unable to get beyond the arriving station. If it isn't obvious to the new traveller then they won't use it.

It is a long train trip - its faster to drive from NY/NJ. Yes, Manhattan traffic at 5:00 PM on a Friday is a mess, but that ends and then you have a seven hour drive to even the West most parts (I've done it many times). It's an easy drive.

How many of those 1 million are coming from downstate NY? SE Ohioans will not take the trtain, nor will people from Pennsylvania.

Its a non-starter.

M
 
this is my biggest reason I will usually fly over Amtrak - I am unable to get beyond the arriving station. If it isn't obvious to the new traveller then they won't use it.
However, the proposed service to Geneva would work. Geneva is an actual destination in and of itself (unlike Lyons), and is a walkable town. (Also with an Enterprise rental car agency which would probably be happy to drop cars off at the train station.)

A Lyons stop by itself doesn't get you much; an Empire Service to Geneva has a lot more potential.

It does cost significantly more money though.
 
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