FOLLOWING HIS DIRECT ADVOCACY, SCHUMER ANNOUNCES $3.4 MILLION FOR HORNELL IDA, BACKING 250 NEW JOBS IN ALSTOM’S EXPANSION & SECURING SOUTHERN TIER’S PLACE AS U.S DOMESTIC TRAIN MANUFACTURER EPICENTER
Alstom Has Secured An Up To $1.8 Billion Contract To Make Passenger Cars For Chicago Metra Commuter Rail System & Will Add 250 New Jobs, BUT Manufacturing Facilities Need To Be Expanded ASAP To Meet This New Demand
Last Month, Schumer Made Personal Call To Commerce Secretary To Urge Feds To Award $3.4 Million Grant Needed To Expand Hornell Manufacturing Facilities; Today, Schumer Celebrates Greenlight From EDA
Schumer: All Aboard And Full Steam Ahead For Fed Investment To Expand Hornell Manufacturing Facilities; Next Stop, Hornell As A Train Manufacturing Hub!
A longtime advocate for Southern Tier-based Alstom, one of the leading train manufacturers in the nation, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced – alongside Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo – a $3.4 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration to make improvements to the Shawmut Industrial Park to support an expansion of Alstom’s train manufacturing in the region. Last month, Schumer made a personal call to Secretary Raimondo to push for the grant and explained that the project allow Alstom to build one of the only U.S.-based manufactured rail car shell operations, bringing back manufacturing from overseas and greatly strengthening America’s train and rail car domestic supply chain. Schumer said the expansion will create 250 new jobs and support Alstom’s current 800-employee workforce.
Alstom recently secured an up to $1.8 billion contract to make passenger rail cars for the Chicago Metra Commuter Rail System and has already committed to investing $35 million to build a new manufacturing facility in the city. The EDA grant announced today will support this expansion, leading to new private investment and job creation in the Hornell area.
“Now, Hornell can make essential improvements to the Shawmut Industrial Park to put Alstom’s new project building rail cars for the Chicago Metra Commuter Rail System on track to create hundreds of good-paying jobs and inject a massive amount of economic energy for the Southern Tier,” said Senator Schumer. “I am proud to announce this critical federal investment alongside Secretary Raimondo today and help Alstom expand their local investment with a new manufacturing facility. This funding will ensure Hornell grows into one of the nation’s main hubs for train manufacturing and is a true win-win for Upstate New York and the future of rail car manufacturing in the U.S. It’s full steam ahead for the City of Hornell!”
“This is tremendous news for the City of Hornell. Senator Schumer has been an incredible advocate for Hornell and he has delivered once again for the Maple City in a big way,” said John Buckley, Mayor of the City of Hornell. “This project will allow for significant infrastructure improvements to the Shawmut Industrial Park, foster investment in the area, and create hundreds of good paying jobs. Hornell will be one of the only places in the U.S. producing train passenger car shells. Thank you Senator Schumer for helping secure Hornell’s spot on the map as one of the train manufacturing hubs for America!”
“As the project coordinator for the new Alstom Car Shell Manufacturing facility, I can honestly say I have never been more impressed with the efforts of Senator Schumer's Office and Majority Leader Schumer himself, he has been a stalwart in his efforts to assist this project which will result in the creation of 258 new jobs here in Hornell, New York.,” said Shawn Hogan, Executive Consultant for the Hornell Industrial Development Agency. “This project and the resulting job creation, is tremendous news for the entire region, the State and Nation. This project will result in technology transfer and onshore production of Car Shells that are currently imported. Great work Senator Schumer and his team once again delivering for New York. Many thanks to the professionalism and guidance given and offered by the EDA team, we are forever grateful.”
Schumer has strongly supported opportunities for growth at Alstom's Hornell facility, which has, for more than 150 years, been manufacturing and servicing high-quality trains in Hornell. He visited Alstom in Hornell on several occasions, most recently in September 2015, to announce and celebrate with local leaders the Amtrak Board of Directors' entrance into negotiations with Alstom to provide a replacement for Amtrak's current Acela trains. In June 2015, Schumer visited Alstom in Hornell to urge the Department of Transportation (USDOT) to green light Amtrak's efforts to buy brand new Next Generation High-Speed trains. In early 2020, Schumer’s push proved to be successful and the FRA signed off on Amtrak’s permit application.
A copy of Schumer’s original letter to Secretary Raimondo appears below:
Dear Secretary Raimondo,
I write on behalf of the Hornell Industrial Development Agency’s application to the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to support essential improvements to the Shawmut Industrial Park in Hornell, NY for the expansion of Alstom’s manufacturing facility. This funding is integral to the development of a site that will allow Alstom to build a U.S.-based manufactured rail car shell operation, strengthening the domestic supply chain, while also ensuring continued job growth in Steuben County and New York’s broader Southern Tier region.
Alstom is one of the world`s leading transportation companies specializing in the manufacturing of high-speed rail and transit cars. They employ an estimated 4,700 total workers in the U.S., with their new rail passenger car manufacturing facility located in Hornell, NY employing over 800 workers. Earlier this year, Alstom was awarded a large contract to construct the steel carbody shell of bi-level rail passenger cars for the Chicago Metra Commuter Rail system. Previously, Alstom imports their rail carbody shells from abroad, but this contract has spurred interest to begin manufacturing these carbody shells in America to reduce costs and simultaneously strengthen their NY operations.
Alstom and the Hornell IDA have worked together to develop a proposal for a new 135,000 square foot manufacturing facility at the Shawmut Industrial Park for building electric fusion welded stainless steel rail passenger carbody shells. This groundbreaking proposal would make Alstom’s Hornell operations a critical stainless steel rail carbody manufacturers in the U.S. Specifically, Alstom has committed to the City of Hornell that they would finance the construction of the expanded facility with $35 million in direct investment. Notably, this project is also located in a distressed area that would especially benefit from this significant economic investment and job creation. Hornell would use funding provided through the EDA for critical site improvements such as the construction of a new parking lot, lighting, utility relocation, and other necessary facility infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the expanded manufacturing facility.
This project will create an estimated 250 new manufacturing jobs by 2022. To prepare workers for these new jobs, the company plans to utilize existing training and education partnerships with specialized higher education institutions, like SUNY Alfred, Corning Community College, and Alfred University, all of which are in close proximity to Hornell. I have fought hard over the years to support opportunities for growth at Alstom's Hornell facility, from urging the Department of Transportation (USDOT) to green-light Amtrak's efforts to work with Alstom in the production of new Next Generation High-Speed trains to securing Federal Railroad Administration permits to keep the production of the Acela fleet on track. This project, if aided by the EDA, would be a massive boost to the U.S.’s overall domestic transportation manufacturing capabilities, as well as to the economic growth of a distressed rural region of New York State.
I applaud the Hornell IDA and the role it continues to play in the economic development of the Southern Tier, and hope its application for funding is met with your approval.
Thank you for your consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact me or my grants coordinator in our Washington, DC office at 202-224-6542.
Sincerely,
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