The Peru Gazette

L-R Site Managing Director Jeff Lambert explained the plant’s operations to Senator Gellibrand

Senator Gellibrand and several of Alstom staff members

Railcars for BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco.

Plattsburgh, NY: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand came to Alstom’s Plattsburgh railcar manufacturing facility last Friday with good news. As a member of the Senate’s Appropriations Committee and Transportation subcommittee, she should be able to secure an additional $350,000 for Clinton County’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing. The appropriation still must be approved by the full Senate and House of Representatives, but Gellibrand appeared to be confident of its ultimate approval.  Assemblyman Billy Jones joined in thanking Gellibrand. Jones resigned from his office effective at midnight Friday to lead the Institute which specializes in training workers in the skills needed by several local manufacturers. 

Gellibrand mentioned Alton’s major contracts for the Long Island Railroad and Metro North, and the company’s importance to New York’s manufacturing sector. She stated that Alstom’s manufacturing operations positively impact 180 businesses in 29 states. Site Managing Director Jeff Lambert, thanked Gellibrand for her longtime support. He noted that Plattsburgh’s site has produced 5,000 railcars over the past thirty years. North Country Chamber of Commerce CEO Gary Douglas pointed to Gellibrand’s being a member of the Senate’s Transportation Subcommittee as a sign of her commitment to New York’s railcar industry.

The railcars produced in Plattsburgh and a sister plant in Hornell, NY, incorporate the latest technology. Jeff Lambert said the Metro North M-9A cars will travel up to 125 miles per hour. Alstom also produces a self-powered railcar for short and local runs.  No locomotive is needed. Last month, Alstom delivered the NextGen Acela, which will carry passengers along the Northeast corridor at speeds up to 165 miles per hour. Astrom manufactures it in Hornell.