It is an overlooked attraction whose time is coming. But some would say its running a bit late.
When considering the attractions that draw tourists to the Hudson Valley, the river, the mountains, the mansions and the history all come to mind, along with the increasing culinary sophistication centered around the CIA in Hyde Park. But few locals mention the train.
Visitors who have arrived using the Metro-North Railroad from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie rave about the beauty of the journey along the eastern shore, passing scenic wonders such as the Tappan Zee Bridge, Storm King Mountain, Constitution Marsh and an occasional bald eagle.
Increasingly, lodging establishments are taking advantage of the easy travel option offered by the railroad, said Mary Kay Vrba, director of Dutchess County Tourism.
“It”™s not having a major impact at the moment in terms of numbers, but it”™s something we”™re working on,” Vrba said.
Metro-North, Amtrak and area hotels have all been discussing packages for overnight stays, and she said that some facilities, such as the Poughkeepsie Grand and the Holiday Inn Express in Poughkeepsie have vans that pick up passengers at the train station and take them to their hotel.
The passenger trains might only travel on the eastern shore of the Hudson, but their reach extend across the river to the mountains. Nina Smiley communications director for Mohonk Mountain House reports that the famous national lodging landmark annually makes about 400 trips to and from the Poughkeepsie railroad station to meet or drop off guests.
Beacon area hotels are also seeing some increased reliance on the train to visit the region.
“There is an upsurge, definitely on the weekends,” said Josephine Formisano, general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn in Fishkill.
She said visitors tell her they are drawn by the area”™s newest attraction.
“A lot of them are traveling up just to do the Walkway Over the Hudson,” she said, but added they find the train trip as an unexpected bonus. “They say they enjoy the train trip up the Hudson because it is very beautiful.”
The Hilton Garden uses a bus loop that the Beacon Chamber of Commerce arranges from the train station to the cluster of hotels ”“ Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn hotel and conference center, Courtyard Fishkill, Hotel Sierra, Residence Inn, Days Inn, Homestead Studio Suites and Extended Stay America Hotel ”“ around the Route 9 and Interstate 84 intersection.
She said cabs are an option, but expressed the need for a more uniform presentation and pricing arrangement for the taxis. Vrba said she agrees a taxi upgrade is needed and said that city officials in Beacon and Poughkeepsie are aware of the situation. “It certainly is an area we could improve upon.”
She said another way the region could develop more train-tourists would be by providing parking places dedicated to rental cars at the rail stations.
“A car rental kiosk at the train stations would be great,” she said. The attraction is obvious, visitors could leave the train and climb into the rental car and get right to the fun. As it stands now, would-be car renters need to take a cab to a rental center or make other arrangements. She said that Enterprise rentals already has a pair of slots at the Poughkeepsie train station and said Metro-North and other rental companies are examining logistics of at least increasing the number of parking spaces dedicated to car rentals, as a way of stoking use of the train to the region option.
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