Letter from Senator Peter Oberacker
To Gov. Hochul on Rail Expansion
New Yorkers deserve reliable, affordable rail. On paper, extending Metro-North service to Albany and capping Amtrak fares sounds like a win for commuters, students, and small businesses across the Hudson Valley and Capital Region. Promising ideas too often turn into costly letdowns once the MTA gets involved, leaving taxpayers to clean up the mess.
New Yorkers don’t need glossy announcements. They need guarantees. If you cannot make these commitments, it will confirm what too many already suspect: this is a money grab to prop up a mismanaged MTA, not a serious plan to serve upstate commuters.
As Ranking Member of the Senate Transportation Committee and representative of upstate communities, I support better rail options done right: transparent budgeting, ironclad protections for taxpayers, and clear lines of accountability. What I will not support is yet another Albany “trust us” announcement that morphs into stealth tax hikes, shifting goalposts, or subsidies without oversight.
You have said this expansion won’t raise the commuter tax. Upstate families have heard promises like that before. If this plan is truly about service, and not revenue, then you should be willing to make concrete, written commitments and answer the basic questions posed below:
Funding & Costs
- What is the total capital cost to extend Metro-North service past Poughkeepsie (stations, yards, power, signals, platforms, ADA upgrades, crew bases, rolling stock)?
- What are the projected annual operating and maintenance costs for the Albany round trip(s) in FY26–FY28 and who pays the shortfall if fares don’t cover expenses?
- Which funding sources will be used (state budget lines, MTA capital program, federal grants, congestion pricing revenue, one-time revenues), and what is the size/timing of each?
- Will any state funds designated for upstate or upstate county dollars be tapped, directly or indirectly, for start-up or ongoing costs?
Fares & Subsidies
- You’ve floated approximately $40.00 one-way fares pegged to Amtrak’s lowest rate. What is the per-rider subsidy at launch and at scale?
- If costs exceed plan, will fares be raised or will taxpayers be asked to backfill? How much and from where?
Payroll Mobility Tax/“Commuter Tax”
- You’ve said there will be no increase in the payroll mobility tax (PMT), known as the “commuter tax” for newly served counties. Will you commit in writing to:
a) No PMT (commuter tax) rate increases tied to this project, and
b) No geographic expansion of the PMT (commuter tax) into additional upstate counties, now or in future phases? - Will you support statutory guardrails to prevent PMT (commuter tax) expansion north of today’s boundary for this project absent a stand-alone law with home-rule messages?
Governance, Representation and Oversight
- With service north of Poughkeepsie, will newly-served upstate communities get voting representation on the MTA Board? If not, why?
- Will you publish a simple quarterly one-page scorecard with ridership, fare-box recovery, subsidy per passenger, on-time performance, cancellations, and net taxpayer cost?
Service Pattern and Coordination
- Will Year 1 service include both morning and evening round trips and will origination be in New York City or Albany?
- Have final operating agreements with Amtrak been executed for slots, dispatching priority, and access fees, and will you release those MOUs?
New Yorkers don’t need glossy announcements. They need guarantees. If you cannot make these commitments, it will confirm what too many already suspect: this is a money grab to prop up a mismanaged MTA, not a serious plan to serve upstate commuters.
Peter Oberacker
New York State Senator (R,C) 51st Senate District
Ranking Member, Senate Transportation Committee
