Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Announcing New High-Speed Rail Manufacturing Jobs Coming To Upstate New York Thanks To The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to announce the historic establishment of a new high-speed rail manufacturing facility in Horseheads, New York, benefiting both the local economy and the national transportation system. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Finally M President, I just came down from a great event in Horseheads, New York, in the Southern Tier of the Appalachians on the New York-Pennsylvania border, where very soon the next chapter of American high-speed rail is going to be written.

It is a historic day for Upstate New York, for the Southern Tier, and for the entire country—high speed rail jobs are coming to Horseheads, where Siemens Mobility has heeded my call to build a first-of-its kind manufacturing facility in Chemung County. This facility will create up to 300 new good-paying jobs—and more specifically union jobs.

Not long ago high speed rail seemed like a dream in this country, but because of the Infrastructure Law I led in the Senate, it’s becoming a reality. On the West Coast, work is underway to bring high speed rail to serve commuters between Las Vegas and Southern California, thanks to the incredible work of my friend Jacky Rosen.

To make this project a reality, we need a new fleet of state-of-the-art passenger trains that can travel up to 220 miles per hour. Siemens Mobility had a number of options for where they could manufacture these trains. But I pushed and prodded and urged Siemens Mobility to choose Upstate New York, to take advantage of our great workers and facilities and strong transit supply chains.

After a lot of pressure, Siemens Mobility heeded my call. To the people of the Southern Tier—good paying rail jobs are on the way!

I thank President Biden not only for helping us pass the Infrastructure Bill, but also for overseeing his cabinet, including the great work of the Transportation Department and Secretary Buttigieg, to ensure that all of our plans from that legislation are now being implemented, and this is one great example.

Today’s announcement is the Democratic agenda in action. This project is going to receive billions from the bipartisan infrastructure law I led in the Senate. It’s going to take a million cars off the road in the long run. And it’s going to promote good paying American union jobs.

The bottom line is this: it is my dream to make New York’s Southern Tier the number one transit ecosystem in America. Today’s announcement helps make that dream come true.

###