Reply to Taking bike on train from Albany to Rochester

This topic has probably been discussed previously. However, I cannot find it with the search function. Aplogy for possuble redundancy. Please advise on what Amtrak train number or name going from Albany (or nearby) to Rochester that will take a bike. Also, how many such trains in a day, which day(s) of the week? I will probably need to do this at the end of my Bflo-Albany ride, finishing mid June. Originally I was going to rent a minivan, 1-way, from Albany to my son's home in the Corning area but the rental fees have really exploded with the pandemic and car rental companies shrinking.

Wanderingsoul: There have been many posts regarding Amtrak service over the last year which seem to reflect that availability of bicycle transport on the Empire Service trains is 'in transition.' Amtrak does not officially acknowledge that bike transportation is available on these trains, but people have posted on this forum that they were able to bring their bikes on an Empire Service train.
The Lake Shore Limited, train #49, is certain to take bikes, but only has room for 6 bikes. You need a reservation for you bike, and it costs $20. Unfortunately there is only one train per day, leaving Albany about 1330, arriving in Rochester about 2330. I took my bike on this train last summer. It was easy to check my bike and get it back off again, I would recommend this service. After getting to Rochester at almost midnight it was a short ride on well lit city streets to a downtown hotel. I started my ride the following morning.

Correction: The Lake Shore Limited, Amtrak Train #49 from New York to Chicago, leaves Albany-Rensselaer Station at 1810(610PM) and arrives Rochester Downtown Station at 2315(1115PM), it only runs Wed/Fri/Sun. The Amtrak website states that bikes can't be loaded at the Albany Rensselaer station, but can be loaded at the Schenectady station. The Schenectady station has been renovated has new parking.

It seems COVID has affected Amtrak, hopefully the schedules will be back to normal this summer.

Wow - this is really getting confusing! Seems to me that previously the Empire Service offered roll-on bike service. But, the search I just did shows that it is the Lake Shore service that now provides bike service. (I'll post that previous comment below). Meanwhile, not that long ago, I had a couple calls with AMTRAK and was assured that any station that had attendants could handle roll-on service! Granted that would mean that you still would have to have made a "rack" reservation, but loading/unloading stations are quite numerous. Also, for the record, if you bag your bike, any train can then accommodate it -- but you have tools and be willing to take it apart, etc.

Yankee John provides some current info above, but for reference,
Here is the post from September 2020:

Yankee John from Braintree, VT on 09/06/2020 06:46 PM:
There is currently no bike service on the Empire Service trains, but there is bike service on the Lake Shore Limited that runs once/day to Chicago. I just rode the Lake Shore Limited #48/49 from Schenectady to Rochester with my bike. The train was on time, an Amtrak staff person put loaded my bike on the baggage car without difficulty and returned it to me in Rochester undamaged. The only hard part is that the short distance Coach seats are at the front of the train, and the baggage car is at the back, so it's a long walk with your panniers after you drop off your bike. You need to have a reservation for the bike because the baggage car holds only hold 6 bikes. It costs $20 for the bike. The train arrived in Rochester at 2315, and it was an easy ride to the downtown hotels on well lit streets.

The Lake Shore Limited does not stop at the Exchange station in downtown Buffalo, only at the Depew station, and it arrives after midnight. The hotels hear Depew are all dull big box airport hotels. The Lakeshore used to skip Rome, and was 30 minutes faster, but apparently the tracks on the direct route the omits Rome are bad so all of the trains go through Rome even if they don't stop there. There are rumors that the tracks repairs will be completed by next year so the trip will be shorter and the train will arrive earlier. It's not expensive to reserve a taxi van in advance that can transport you to a hotel from Depew, but it will only hold 2 bikes. There is not a continuous trail along the water from downtown Buffalo to the trails leaving Buffalo north to the Erie Canal, so if you stay in a downtown hotel you will have to ride on city streets at the start of your trip. Buffalo has some great architecture, so the ride is actually quite pleasant if it's not rush hour.