Hudson station (New York)

Hudson station is a train station in Hudson, New York. Hudson serves a total of four different Amtrak trains, all of which have a southern terminus at Pennsylvania Station in New York City. They consist of the Adirondack from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the Empire Service from Niagara Falls, New York, the Ethan Allen Express from Burlington, VT, and the Maple Leaf from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lake Shore Limited trains from Chicago served Hudson until April 4, 2009.

History
Originally built in 1874 by the New York Central Railroad, it is the oldest continuously operated station in the state. Besides the Water Level Route, Hudson was also the terminus of the former Boston and Albany Railroad Hudson Branch, on which passenger service ran until 1932.

Passenger service at the station as well as across the nation was assumed by Amtrak in 1971. In the late 1980s, the parking lots on either side of the station were repaved. The next renovation took place between 1991 and 1992 with funds from New York State, after the renovations, the station had a grand re-opening. In the late 1990s, ridership at the Hudson station grew to the point that the city opened up an additional parking lot across the street. In 2009, the city created metered parking on Front Street due to the continuing demand. A task force recently studied the feasibility of raising the platform, a difficult task since north end of the platform is curved and an active freight siding lies near that side of the station.

The Berkshire Flyer began running on July 8, 2022, providing direct service to Pittsfield on summer weekends.

Station layout
The station has two low-level paved island platforms. Northbound trains generally use Track 1 while southbound trains generally use Track 2. with both trains opening doors on the eastern side. The third track is a passing loop that merges into Track 1 on either side of the station. Passengers are required to wait east of the passing loop until the train arrives in the station. The station is wheelchair-accessible, with passengers reaching the train via a portable wheelchair lift.