The Amtrak Autumn Express excursion is back by popular demand for another year, operating Saturday, Oct. 14, and Sunday, Oct.15, from New York Penn Station for a trip through the Hudson River Valley. Passengers can join this historic train ride, view stunning scenery and experience rare mileage along a route that hasn’t seen regular passenger service in decades.
Passengers can join this historic train ride, view stunning scenery and experience rare mileage along a route that hasn’t seen regular passenger service in decades.
This year’s Autumn Express will travel along one of the best rail journeys on the East Coast as it travels up and down the scenic Hudson River Valley. The excursion train will depart New York Penn Station, passing underneath the Hudson River and stopping in Newark, New Jersey to accept passengers and making a transition from electric to diesel power. After Newark, it will change directions and head toward Jersey City for a quick glimpse of the New York Harbor before heading north. It will arrive on the west bank of the Hudson River just below Haverstraw, where passenger trains have not run in decades.
The train will pass such landmarks as Bear Mountain Bridge, Storm King Mountain, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Newburgh, and the Poughkeepsie Bridge. It will head inland, passing through Kingston and smaller communities like Catskill, Athens, and Ravena. After reversing direction again before crossing Hudson on the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge at Castleton. Once over the bridge, it will descend down onto the Amtrak Hudson line for a scenic 112-mile run down the east shore of the Hudson River on the classic ex-NYC Water Level Route. Highlights include Hudson, Rhinecliff, Pollepel Island (Bannerman’s Castle), Break Neck Tunnel, and Peekskill. Finally, the Autumn Express will cross the Spuyten Duyvil moveable bridge and follow the Amtrak Empire Connection the final 12 miles to New York Penn Station.
Tickets can be purchased starting Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 10.a.m. on Amtrak.com or by calling 800-USA-RAIL. Seating is limited. Tickets are $169 for adults. Children 2-12 ride for half price with each adult ticket. Customers also receive a boxed lunch, souvenir tote and complimentary lapel pin with the purchase of their ticket.
Please note the Autumn Express train will also make a stop to receive passengers at Newark Penn Station but will not make this stop on the return trip. Passengers who wish to board in Newark will need to make return travel arrangements from New York Penn Station to Newark.
Photo Credit: Amtrak / Marc Glucksman
