I missed our last stop at Amsterdam. We are currently at Schenectady, New York on our way to Albany in 20 minutes. There was an announcement earlier that the train food area was closing. That was at the noon hour. How weird is that? All the stations appeared to be very clean. read more

Amtrak - Schenectady view - Train Stations Near Me - Schenectady, New York

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I had a chance to experience the famous Amtrak train system Oct 21 thru 23rd 2025, and I have to say, AMAZING! This one gentleman named Mr. Ainsley, on the Lakeshore run to and from Chicago was so busy and professional it was like poetry in motion. He escorted kids safely back and forth to bathrooms, parents etc., and you could tell they were relaxed and trustful. He flew past collecting garbage from various areas, looking to make sure everything and everyone was cared for and safe. I think he puts in more miles than the train does ! He clearly is dedicated to keeping Amtrak clean, safe and efficiently run so passengers ride happy and the company is well represented. That said, every employee I met from getting tickets to greeting people as they got on or off trains was caring and positive and a tribute to their professionalism. Good people, all. read more

Clean station, even the bathrooms! Seems relatively new. Interesting Schenectady history information on the tel video screens, good for the time passing by. Limited seating. No air flow -- very hot in July! read more

Amtrak - Station waiting area - Train Stations Near Me - Schenectady, New York

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I would like to thank Amtrak and also Schenectady PD for being the bad asses that they truly are, as I go through the rest of my existence not letting this type of situation slide. I was the production supervisor of a commercial crew shooting an "I Love New York" spot for Empire State Development at the Schenectady Amtrak station. The shoot was a multi-day shoot, and we were already in at about day 5 or 6. The location manager on the project, a woman named Tamara Gallegos-Weber (who was hired by the producer and not by me) was apparently LGBT, as she was super handsy for the whole of the project. After complaining about Tamara's lack of respect for other people's boundaries, she did eventually stop brushing her hands up against my thigh or wherever, but on her last day on the job she snuck one in. Tamara had purchased a handful of "I Love NY" tote-bags for some of the crew, her way of showing appreciation - or a kind of "job well done guys" gesture. Or so I thought. When she handed me the tote that she was gifting me in the Amtrak parking lot, she pressed and grinded her pelvis against me like there was something wrong with her. I mean, I've been on this Earth four decades. I have NEVER, ever, ever, in my entire existence, experienced any man or woman in a professional setting or personal setting or, frankly, ANYWHERE who doesn't know how to NOT CASUALLY SEXUALLY ASSAULT PEOPLE! I was so heated! She had waited until her last day on the job to basically take advantage of a nice person. At that very second I instantly regretted being nice to her throughout the project, for, I realized that it wasn't worth it. Because some people take kindness for a weakness. While vacationing in Lake George, after enough time had passed allowing me to reflect on how much I resented Tamara for putting her greasy paws anywhere on me, I called over to Schenectady and conveyed to a Sergeant about what had happened on the Amtrak set, asking if he needed me to travel to Schenectady after leaving Lake George to lodge the complaint. And the officer seemed horrified actually, which, I'm sure he's seen worse. But I really commend the fact that he was sensitive to my pain and to the emotions that I ultimately had to relive while walking him through my account of being unexpectedly forcibly touched. It wasn't easy to talk about. But I did. I am writing this review because I would ultimately like to commend Amtrak for responding to my email request for Amtrak to preserve the parking lot surveillance video on the date that the incident occurred. Hats off to Amtrak's legal department for their quick response to the request. And hats off to the boys in blue who work really hard to protect us all. Thank you so much Amtrak!! read more

It lacks in amenities and the station is in the middle of ... nothing. However, they have MICHAEL, the super helpful, super kind and super patient ticket booth, station attendant, red cap, and anything-you-name-it guy who was helping anyone who came his way (including myself) with questions or issues in a patient manner, often making suggestions, offering options etc. I would like to give him fifty stars and the station (which is very clean) a three for being very plain. Perhaps a snack vending machine might help? Thank you for all of your help today, Michael! read more

Wasnt looking forward to my layover on SDY...However...I met some cool people who manage the facility. Great with the logistics...and luggage too. read more

Amtrak has a horrible website. Very limited information with no phone number. I did find a phone number by doing a google search but when dialed it required an access code. This will be my last time traveling with Amtrak. read more

My first train experience wasn't a bad one; even though it was long as Hell! The longest part was the inspection going into Canada. The Amtrak experience is somewhere between that of a plane and a bus. If you're a Coach person (not the designer) like myself, you'll appreciate that the seats are a little larger than those of planes and busses. We were fortunate enough to get in early in the line (the train trip line), so there weren't many people on when we got on. People got on as we stopped at the different stations, but the train never filled up completely (Maybe because we left on a Thursday). It was basically like a long subway trip, as we traveled from Buffalo to Montreal. Between stops, you may ride for 10 mins or 45 mins, but there's free wifi and a cafe car if you need a fix. read more

Amtrak - Waiting area - Train Stations Near Me - Schenectady, New York

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While the train is a very easy way to travel, I have never left or arrived on time in the dozen plus times I've used it. The trains itself aren't terribly dirty, but aren't super clean either. Food on board is average at best, and very expensive. Again a very easy travel method but plan to leave and arrive late. A very slow but easy method of transportation. read more

I normally travel by plane, because I dont like spending more of my vacation than necessary just "getting there". However, a plane trip really takes the whole day - security, check-in, boarding, waiting, waiting, more waiting... I am on a train trip from home to New York/Boston and it's fantastic. The staff are great, there's the food car, you can get up and stretch... no annoying seatbelts to dig into you. It's quieter than a plane. you can arrive 3 mins before departure and still make it on (though it's not recommended... :P). The view is great, the seats are big, there's wifi and power outlets, you can text with friends. All kinds of advantages :) No more will I take short plane trips - saving that for only the long trips, and trains are my new thing. Hurray! read more

Train travel is so classy. I had only ever heard horror stories about Amtrak: how there were crazy delays, how unreliable it was, etc etc. Thankfully, I had a great experience taking the train in NY during my vacation. The trains departed and arrived on time! Super comfy and roomy! Far superior to plane seats. *shudder* My only complaint is that there is no assigned seating. This could be a good thing for some, but for a packed train? Not so much. Without assigned seats, you don't feel like you can ask people who are hogging two seats to move over so you can sit down. I saw a mother and daughter look longingly at the many open seats next to singletons and lament that they couldn't sit next to each other. However! There are food cars! Nothing fancy, but still fun nonetheless. How I wish train travel were more accessible across the country! Come on America, get with the train travel! I want high speed trains à la TGV soon! read more

This is a review of the Amtrak station in Schenectady, with some pointers. The station is a rather sad 1970s "ministation" that neither replicated the glory of the old-fashioned train station nor replaced it with anything like the slipstreamed practical structure that it was supposed to be. There's a small waiting room that's kept clean but has no amenities at all (if you need to use the restroom, you have to get the key from the station agent at the window) including no place to plug in electronics. There's one of the scanner-ticket-issuing machines inside the waiting room (if you've already bought on-line), and one agent there from 830 AM on to late afternoon. The agent, fwiw, is pleasant and business-like. (Unfortunately, Amtrak is still stuck in the ticket-punching era and you have to go through the elaborate charade of scanning your ticket-to-get-a-ticket to get a ticket that's then punched and exchanged for a seat check on the train. Yoo hoo, Amtrak, portable scanners? Invented a few decades ago. Look into it.) The platform and stairs are kind of a horror, particularly the peeling walkway up to the platform. The elevator was too creepy for me to contemplate going in, but it was apparently in operation. The platforms have old-fashioned benches and while offering a covering from the rain offer no other protection against the elements. You can board from a stairway without going through the waiting room (see the "Train Platform" door window to the left of the main entrance). If you have somebody dropping you off, I'd recommend just staying in the car until you hear the train approaching. If you need sustenance and forgot to bring any with you, there's a Burger King across the street that keeps hours compatible with the train schedule. Parking is immediately in front of the station, with the entrance off Erie Blvd. There are some confusing "Do Not Enter" signs that don't actually apply to the main entrance. If you pull straight in front of the station, the pick-up/dropoff parking is to your left; other spots in the lot are for commuter parking for downtown Schenectady, and there's a self-service long-term parking option (which I haven't availed myself of so can't explain how it works...) I'm grateful the train service still comes through here, and it is more convenient than the "Albany" station over in Rensselaer, but the latter is a nicer station across the board. Amtrak needs to get Schenectady's updated station project off the drawing boards and under construction. We no longer have interurban trolleys, of course, which used to connect all the cities of the region, but the main line of the old New York Central pretty much parallels the Thruway and it's amazing there hasn't been an effort to use the tracks for a local commuter rail system. Stops at the Dunes/Washington Extension complex and the State office complex could easily be added, and something reasonably close to downtown Albany with a shuttle could be sited. But that may require too much foresight about transportation planning, given that the growth along the Northway seems to have dominated what passes for "regional planning" hereabouts. The reconstruction and widening of the Kosciusko bridge over the Mohawk on I-87 will probably cost about what it would take to retrofit this line into a short regional commuter system but will only have mild amelioration of the traffic problem there, and that too will be wiped out with further growth in Saratoga County (which is also served by three train stations). In any event, I doubt the current sad state of the Schenectady Amtrak station is going to build any groundswell towards rail. read more

Amtrak is one of three reasonable ways to go back and forth between Schenectady and New York. All of them take about three hours and a bit more. [The others are by Capital Tours bus -- not very nice -- and driving.] This should be an easy deal. When it works, it is. Sadly, the system does not work very well very often -- and Amtrak seems OK with this. Amtrak trains rarely arrive in Schenectady on time, both going down to town or coming back. This would be livable, but Amtrak does not provide even vaguely accurate assessment of how late a train will be. The web-site data is never to be trusted. Amtrak's 800 number gets you to an automated system that rarely works, and if you ask for a representative, be prepared for a long wait and a surly response. The local station has a very bad answering machine; heaven forfend these folks should do more than decorate the ticket office, by answering the phone. If one is prepared to go to Rensselaer, things are marginally better if one gets the trains that originate there. But this entails a 20 minute drive and a garage parking fee. At that point, flying becomes viable.... read more

I had yet another really bad experience on the Amtrak train from Schenectady to Buffalo. First, my online ticket order did not get sent to my email as expected. When i arrived to the station i asked the ticket attendant and he informed me that the system was currently down. So i asked him to just print a ticket for me, he said he cannot print any tickets, which makes no sense because he is a ticket attendant. So not sure what he does. I told him i would just use the order confirmation and he told me that is not a ticket and would not suffice, yet he offered me no other solutions. Not good customer experience. The ticket ended up coming through my email right before boarding, which was 30 minutes late. After the initial delay we continually got stuck behind freight trains which made us go at a snails pace. Not sure how that happens, and how it isn't scheduled better. This happens every time i take the "direct" train. It is supposed to be 5 hours, this one was closer to 7 hours. They give these half ass apologies, but i think they know its going to take that long and they just don't care. Also make sure to dress for winter because the air conditioning is on full blast and they cant seem to control it, really weird. This is why i avoid the train at all costs if i can. read more

The station itself is very nice, but only one complaint about one of the conductors who's extremely rude. Because I'm young She whispered to her co worker saying "she looks 14" and he asked Tara to repeat herself and she looked at me, laughed and whispered again. Then I told her in a polite manor to stop and that I was 18 and could hear her talking about me which made me feel very uncomfortable. And walked away from the situation. Then she proceeded to harass me by coming to my seat where I was sitting and threaten to kick me off the train and asked to see my id. VERY RUDE. I humbly request termination because this itself is very immature and unprofessional. I felt very uncomfortable and on my way back I will not be riding Amtrak again. 100% truth. I don't need to be picked out of the passengers, harassed, and threatened because I look young. Bs. read more

Great customer service from amazing staff. Train arrived at the scheduled time. I had forgotten my camera on the train which was more then a hour away when I realized, but an employee there, Kenny, with help from others, went above and beyond to retrieve it all within hours. I must say Amtrak couldn't have handled it any better! read more

I love riding the train. It was cold, and there is not enough room to wait inside before boarding, but still, this was a clean and efficient location. What more do you want when traveling by train? read more