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New York's Rep. Williams Calls for Upgrades to Empire Corridor
May 2, 2024
New York’s Congressman Williams issued a letter to Gov. Hochul to speed delivery of Syracuse-area upgrades to Amtrak's Empire Corridor.
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Early last month, Congressman Brandon Williams (R-NY-22) issued a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) urging her administration to expedite Syracuse-area upgrades to Amtrak’s Empire Corridor service.
Congressman Williams pointed to already-identified improvements included in the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Service Development Plan (SDP) for the corridor, noting the attendant economic benefits that will come with providing better service to the popular New York State Fairgrounds, and simultaneously enabling more efficient freight shipments to and from a new chip manufacturing being constructed near Syracuse.
“With Micron set to build one of the largest chip manufacturing plants in North America just outside of Syracuse, it is time to begin the design and construction of projects identified in the SDP for the Syracuse area,” said Congressman Williams. “The Syracuse station area has long been a three-track bottleneck for both passenger and freight trains on the Empire Corridor. Additionally, the nearby two-track Park Street rail bridge has inadequate roadway clearance and is regularly the site of truck ‘hits’ which disrupt vehicular and rail traffic.”
The Congressman pointed to the new opportunities presented by the passenger rail programs established through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. This has been a point of emphasis in meetings between Rail Passengers Association Council Members, Empire State Passenger Association leadership, and Congressman Williams’s staff during his tenure in Congress.
“The Empire State Passengers Association is delighted to be working with Congressman Williams and to support his efforts to ensure the State of New York speedily advances the federally approved passenger rail improvement plan for the Empire Corridor,” said Steve Strauss, ESPA's Executive Director and a member of the Rail Passengers’ Council of Representatives from New York State. “We applaud the Congressman for his work to protect the federal funding for these kinds of improvements in last year’s transportation budget and appreciate that he's following through to ensure that the State of New York spends the money efficiently.”
The full letter can be accessed here.
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"On behalf of Amtrak’s onboard service staff, I want to thank the Rail Passengers Association for honoring their hard work with this award. The past couple years have indeed been difficult for Amtrak onboard service staff – coping with furloughs and job insecurity, adapting to changing protocols and services, not to mention the unfortunate events such as a tragic derailment and a fatal shooting. Nevertheless, our dedicated members at Amtrak have handled these hurdles with the care, attention and diligence for which they’re known. We thank Rail Passengers for their acknowledgement of our members’ hard work and, as always, look forward to seeing you on the rails."
Arthur Maratea, TCU/IAM National President
December 21, 2021, on the Association awarding its 2021 Golden Spike Award to the Frontline Amtrak Employees.
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