Rensselaer

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer wants Amtrak to add baggage cars to its Adirondack and Ethan Allen services so that vacationers can take their bicycles with them to the Adirondacks, Capital Region, Hudson Valley and Vermont.

He was joined at a news conference at the Rensselaer train station Monday by state Sen. Betty Little, who represents much of the Adirondacks and has sought bicycles on trains for two decades.

Amtrak said it is testing various designs that would permit bicycles to be carried in existing passenger cars, and that its new baggage cars would have bicycle racks.

But it wouldn't say whether those baggage cars would see service on the Adirondack to Montreal or the Ethan Allen to Rutland, Vt.

The 55 new Amtrak baggage cars are being built at a plant in Elmira.

Schumer pointed out that many New York City residents don't own cars and have no way to get their bicycles to bicycle races in Washington County, athletic competitions in the Lake Placid region, or to such vacation destinations as Lake George.

Amtrak already carries bicycles on trains serving Maine and North Carolina, as well as on its California services.

"This simple change — getting bikes on Amtrak — will bring more tourism dollars to our regional economy," Schumer said. "We want this to happen this season. We don't want to wait a season."

Amtrak said it "recognizes the growing demand to expand 'roll-on, roll-off' bike service and is testing designs to retrofit our existing train equipment with more on board bike racks and are building new baggage cars with them built in.

"Moving forward, Amtrak will look to states for direction on where to provide bicycle accommodations as they become more responsible for shorter distance train routes under federal law."

Under federal legislation, states will now pay to support intrastate Amtrak services, something New York already does with the Adirondack and Vermont with the Ethan Allen.

"Bicyclists are an important part of New York state's multimodal transportation system, and NYSDOT recognizes the increased demand for biking accommodations and the potential economic benefits through tourism," the DOT said. "The department looks forward to working with Amtrak to evaluate the feasibility of their prototype 'roll-on, roll-off' designs, and where they would benefit routes in New York state."

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