SCHUMER, IN DIRECT CALL WITH SECRETARY OF COMMERCE RAIMONDO, URGES FEDS TO APPROVE $3.4 MILLION GRANT ASAP TO SUPPORT EXPANSION OF ALSTOM’S MANUFACTURING FACILITIES; PROJECT WILL CREATE 250 NEW JOBS & FURTHER SOLIDIFY HORNELL AS DOMESTIC TRAIN MANUFACTURING CENTER
Alstom Has Secured An Up To $1.8 Billion Contract To Make Passenger Cars For Chicago Metra Commuter Rail System; Will Add 250 New Manufacturing Jobs
To Keep Project On Track, $3.4 Million Federal Investment Needed to Expand Hornell Manufacturing Facilities; Schumer Urges Secretary Raimondo To Greenlight Approval Of Fed EDA Grant
Schumer: All Aboard To Elevate Hornell Even Further As A Global 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 on a personal call with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, urged the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to approve a $3.4 million federal grant for Hornell to make improvements to the Shawmut Industrial Park to support an expansion of Alstom’s train manufacturing in the region. Alstom previously 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 will support this expansion, leading to new private investment and job creation in the Hornell area.
The new project will 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. Additionally, the expansion will support the creation of 250 new manufacturing jobs. Alstom presently has 800 employees in Hornell, including Machinists, supporting current projects.
“Alstom’s new project building rail cars for the Chicago Metra Commuter Rail System will create hundreds of good-paying jobs, injecting a massive amount of economic energy in for the economically struggling Southern Tier,” said Senator Schumer. “However, before these state-of-the-art cars can hit the tracks, the Commerce Department must approve Hornell’s federal grant request to help Alstom expand their local investment with a new manufacturing facilities. That’s why I made a direct phone call to Secretary Raimondo, to get the feds on board and urge the Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to fast-track Hornell’s application and greenlight critical federal investment for Alstom’s growth in the Southern Tier.”
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.
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