Want To Go To The Berkshires? Check Out The Berkshire Flyer

Amtrak, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), are announcing pilot seasonal passenger rail service to operate this year and in 2023 to be known as the Berkshire Flyer, with a route between New York City and Pittsfield, MA. The service will be initiated on July 8 and will operate on weekends through the summer months with a similar schedule next year. The Berkshire Flyer will include a Friday afternoon departure from New York’s Penn Station to Pittsfield, MA, via Albany-Rensselaer, NY. A return trip will be provided on Sunday afternoons. Each train will make several station stops.

The Berkshire Flyer will depart from New York Penn Station at 3:16 p.m. on Fridays and arrive at Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center, 1 Columbus Ave, Pittsfield at 7:12 p.m.  The train will make all the intermediate station stops as the typical Amtrak Empire Service train does on Fridays, which include Yonkers, NY, Croton-Harmon, NY, Poughkeepsie, NY, Rhinecliff, NY, Hudson, NY, and Albany-Rensselaer Station. The Sunday return trip, making all the same station stops, will depart Pittsfield at 3:00 p.m. and arrive in New York at 7:05 p.m.

“Berkshire County is home to art, culture, history, and hospitality, and the Berkshire Flier line will enable more people to experience it,” said Congressman Richard. E. Neal, Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Berkshire Flyer customers can expect the same amenities onboard as they do on all other Amtrak trains including, free Wi-Fi, the freedom to use phones and electronic devices at all times (no “airplane mode”), the ability to travel with small pets on many trains, large spacious seats with ample leg room, no middle seat, and one of the most generous baggage policies in the travel industry, applicable for two personal items and two carry-on bags.

Tickets are not yet available but will be sold beginning in May and can be available for purchase on Amtrak.com, the Amtrak app, Amtrak ticket desks and kiosks, and through 1-800-USA-RAIL.

For MassDOT information, please visit:  https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-transportation.