A day after the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced more than $2 billion in funding for high-speed intercity rail projects, officials of Alstom Transport detailed the company's effort to support new jobs created by upgrades to America's transportation network. In the last year, Alstom invested more than $3 million to enhance its 150,000-square-foot rail signaling manufacturing facility in West Henrietta, N.Y., enabling the site to accommodate approximately 200 new jobs.

The announcement was made during an event at Alstom's Rochester facility that included remarks from U.S. DOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari, New York State Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald, regional labor leaders and a representative of the Apollo Alliance — a national coalition of labor, business and community leaders that support investments in mass transit and other infrastructure projects that create jobs and keep America competitive in the global transit marketplace.

In addition to benefits realized through job creation linked to projects throughout the U.S., New York received several direct investments through the recent round of federal rail funding. These included $295 million to alleviate delays for trains traveling the Northeast Corridor in and out of Manhattan; $58 million to upgrade tracks, stations and signals along the state's Empire Corridor; and $1.4 million for a new intermodal station in Rochester.

Over the past six months, Alstom secured several large-scale transportation projects valued at well over $300 million. Among these are an upgraded signaling and train control system for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, as well as a complete overhaul and modernization of 120 railcars for the Delaware River Port Authority's PATCO system.

Alstom also marked several recent milestones in its North American signaling activities, including receipt of the first Federal Railroad Administration type approval for U.S. deployment of a fully-functional positive train control (PTC) system. The investments announced this week will enhance the company's ability to deliver these projects and others for which it is currently bidding.