In December 1967, just months before its merger with the PRR to become the Penn Central Transportation Company, the Central reorganized all its passenger routes. All trains along the New York-Buffalo corridor were consolidated under the Empire Service brand. Marketing emphasized convenient service within New York, with a reduced emphasis on long-distance trains which continued west of Buffalo. This program continued after the Penn Central merger. The new scheduling produced mixed results; passengers were deterred by the poor quality of the passenger cars and the inconvenient locations of stations along the route. Penn Central handed the Empire Service, along with most of its other routes, to Amtrak on May 1, 1971. Initially, Amtrak retained seven daily trains on the New York—Albany—Buffalo corridor: four operated from New York to Albany, and three ran through to Buffalo. All service west of Buffalo was discontinued. All trains retained their ex-Penn Central numbers and were otherwise nameless. Westward service resumed briefly after May with the introduction of the Chicago–New York "Lake Shore", but this train was canceled on January 6, 1972. The "Empire Service" name was restored on June 11, 1972, and individual names were added to the trains along the corridor on May 19, 1974. Despite doubts about Amtrak's potential success, the company was key in reestablishing some discontinued services along the Empire Corridor. Service beyond Buffalo to Niagara Falls was reestablished with such trains as the "Niagara Rainbow" and the "Maple Leaf". In addition Amtrak restored service to downtown Schenectady in 1978, a service which Penn Central had discontinued in 1968, for all "Empire Service" trains that continued beyond Albany. Service was restored permanently on the Water Level Route to Chicago with the reintroduction of the old New York Central train, the "Lake Shore Limited," in 1975. On April 7, 1991, all Amtrak "Empire Service" trains started using the new Empire Connection into New York Penn. Prior to that change, all passenger trains from Albany and beyond went into Grand Central Terminal, forcing passengers traveling to the Northeast Corridor to transfer via shuttle bus, taxicab, or via the New York City Subway to reach Penn Station. The move also saved Amtrak the expense of operating two stations in New York. All service along the Empire Corridor was consolidated under the "Empire" brand on October 28, 1995. The names were restored just a year later, only to be dropped again in 1999. In October 2011, CSX and Amtrak reached an agreement for Amtrak to lease the Hudson Subdivision between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady.