The
Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad opened the line in 1842 as part of a line between
Boston and Albany. The line became part of the
Boston and Albany Railroad and
New York Central Railroad through leases and mergers. With the opening of the
Hudson River Connecting Railroad in 1924, it became a minor branch, with through freight using the new
Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge around Albany. On April 30, 1972,
Penn Central Transportation removed the track on the Post Road Branch, forcing passenger trains to make a reverse movement along the current
Schodack Subdivision. The abandoned line was assigned to
Amtrak in the 1976 formation of
Conrail, and Amtrak reopened it on October 28, 1979, with Conrail
trackage rights for freight. These rights were assigned to
CSX Transportation in the 1999 breakup of Conrail. A sinkhole under the tracks in
East Greenbush was discovered in May 2025, causing the
Berkshire Flyer and
Lake Shore Limited to be replaced with buses east of Albany. Service on the line was originally estimated to be restored by January 2026. Service resumed on December 1, 2025. ==See also==