The Southern Tier, like most of New York State, is now facing the drastically negative effects of the world-wide economic crisis. Loss of jobs and rising costs are continuing to burden the residents of this region, hurting families and hurting the community. But, there’s hope. President Obama has recently called for rail updates in the United States as a long-term economic and environmental investment that would take pressure off our congested highways and airways.
In response, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, along with Senators Casey and Specter of Pennsylvania, wrote to President Obama to urge him to fully support a rail link between Binghamton and Scranton, PA, which would allow residents of the Southern Tier easy access to New York City.
January 5, 1970 was the last time a passenger train departed Binghamton – just over 30 years ago. Since then, the infrastructure to support passenger rail has deteriorated. Getting the rails into the condition necessary for high-speed rail service would require significant investment – investment that would provide sorely needed jobs.
Most recently, there’s been a lot of discussion – and momentum – around bringing high-speed rail service to the Empire Corridor, which connects Niagara Falls to New York City via Albany, and Montreal to New York City via Plattsburgh and Albany. But this plan doesn’t include the Southern Tier – specifically what’s needed is a link between Binghamton and Scranton, providing Southern Tier residents easy access to New York City.
Since the letter from our New York Senators and the Senators from Pennsylvania was sent to President Obama, Amtrak has initiated a feasibility study to determine if the project can happen.
This is where you come in! We need to show our elected officials and community leaders that residents of the Southern Tier really need high-speed rail service connecting them to Scranton and New York City. We need to make it clear that this is a crucial component of our economic recovery.
We’ve set up an online form for you to email your Senators, the President, your Member of Congress, Assemblymember, State Senator, and other local community leader. Click here to send your message now.
“Connecting the greater Binghamton area…has the potential to unleash tremendous economic energy,” said Senator Schumer. “To make the Southern Tier an even better place to build a business and create new jobs, we must invest in our rail network to increase access to transportation and increase economic growth…”
As residents of the Southern Tier, it is imperative that we speak out now about restoring passenger rail service to our region. It’s a crucial part of our economic recovery, and will spur job growth across the Southern Tier.