NY: Alstom receives MTA contract

Alstom has been awarded a railcar contract by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Alstom, the railcar manufacturer located in the city of Plattsburgh, recently received an order for 316 next generation passenger railcars for the Long Island and Metro-North railroads. The order is valued at $2.3 billion.

It also includes an option for up to 242 additional cars with a value of up to $1.5 billion.

The North Country Chamber of Commerce welcomed the news of the contract, which has been in the works for some time now.

“We have been joined in advocacy for a green light on this huge order for several years, including active outreach to all of our state and federal friends including Governor Hochul, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Assembly Speaker Heastie who we personally thanked on his recent visit here, Assemblyman Jones and State Senate Transportation Chair Cooney among others,” Chamber President Garry Douglas said in a statement. “This contract will bring years of steady work to Alstom’s plants in both Hornell and Plattsburgh, and we are hopeful of another major announcement soon of another major contract by another transit authority specifically for Plattsburgh. The future of railcar production in upstate New York is bright and secure, supporting hundreds of good jobs and dozens of vendors and suppliers in the North Country and elsewhere in New York. Onward and upward!”

Alstom’s history of producing railcars in Plattsburgh dates back to its arrival in 1995 as Bombardier.

Alstom took over in 2020 when they acquired the business and continued making the same product.

Assemblyman Billy Jones said the contract is a big win for the North Country’s growing transportation and manufacturing cluster.

“Congratulations to Alstom for their recent contract with MTA to manufacture 316 commuter rail cars,” Jones, D- Chateaugay Lake, said in a statement. “This will bring nearly 300 new manufacturing jobs to Upstate New York between their two plants in Plattsburgh and Hornell, which will have a positive impact on the North Country’s transportation manufacturing sector. This is a major win not only for the region, but for New York’s transportation manufacturing industry as a whole, and I am proud to have supported Alstom through this process.”

Jones told the media Wednesday he did not know when the contract would be executed.

“There’s been a lot of partners (on this), and hopefully it comes to fruition sooner than later,” he said.

Asked if there were still any funding concerns for the MTA — especially after threats of cuts by the federal government earlier this year — Jones said the state is “always looking for revenues to fund the MTA.”

“It’s a huge, huge undertaking, but I think … in the latest budget, we have come up with some revenue streams to make sure that they continue to be vibrant, and that’s important to us here in the North Country, obviously,” he said, “because we rely on these MTA contracts to build out our transportation manufacturing cluster and keep it thriving.”