By Anne Cosgrove
From the September/October 2024 Issue
New York State is investing in people and places as well as in transformational technologies. From life-saving medical treatments to the latest in semiconductors, the state is focused on innovation. Its colleges, universities, and workforce development programs are training tomorrow’s leaders. A growing green economy and revitalized downtowns are keeping New York in motion in the 21st century. All of this is supported by historic investments in infrastructure to connect goods and services with the world.
Brightline West Arrives In New York State
Brightline West and Siemens Mobility recently announced that Horseheads, NY will be the location of the first high-speed rail production facility in North America. With production expected to begin in 2026, the facility will make America’s first high-speed trains—the American Pioneer 220—which will operate on Brightline West’s Las Vegas to Southern California line. Horseheads is located in Chemung County in the Southern Tier region of the state.
“Bringing high-speed rail to America is no longer a dream, but a reality. With Leader Schumer, the Biden Administration, and Brightline’s leadership we will transform the way Americans travel,” said Marc Buncher, CEO Siemens Mobility North America at the announcement. “Continuing our more than four-decade legacy of building trains in America, the American Pioneer 220s will be American-Made in New York by a team of more than 300 skilled team members.”

Said Michael Reininger, Brightline CEO, “For the first time ever in the U.S., we will be manufacturing trains that will compete with the best in the world. Reaching speeds of over 200 mph, these trains will be marked by the latest innovations designed for the modern traveler and establishing a new benchmark in transportation.”
The manufacturing facility will create approximately 300 jobs.
Brightline selected Siemens Mobility to build trainsets for the Brightline West high-speed rail project that will connect Las Vegas and Southern California. The American Pioneer 220 will be the first true high-speed trainsets to be built in the U.S. The ultrawide, tube body concept, results in the most accessible high-speed rail vehicle on the market, exceeding ADA requirements.
Workforce Program To Power Business
Workforce development will see a surge in New York State with Governor Kathy Hochul launching the One Network for Regional Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships (ON-RAMP) program, a $200 million investment to help fund and realize a network of four new workforce development centers in high impact locations in Upstate New York. These centers will bring together industry, academia, social services, and community organizations to provide in-demand skills training and wraparound supports to provide people with the skills for high growth advanced manufacturing industries, like semiconductors.
“New York’s economic competitiveness is the result of our extraordinary workforce, striving every day to innovate, create and push the boundaries of what is possible,” Governor Hochul said. “My ON-RAMP program marshals resources to our Upstate communities to catalyze investments in manufacturing—and it’s already delivering for New Yorkers with tens of thousands of new jobs in the industries of the future coming right here to our state.”

Empire State Development (ESD) President, CEO, and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, Empire State Development is making smart, high-impact investments designed to expand the opportunity economy to all New Yorkers. The innovative ON-RAMP program partners the needs of the growing industries that we are successfully attracting to New York with a workforce we are ‘ramping up’— with skills and training—to be successful in the jobs of tomorrow.”
ESD developed and will manage the program.
President and CEO of CenterState Robert Simpson said, “Governor Hochul understands that for our companies to be successful and communities to succeed, investments are needed to ensure advanced manufacturing jobs are accessible to more Central New Yorkers. The ON-RAMP program will bring job training for high-growth industries right into our neighborhoods, meeting people where they are and ensuring that job creation translates into more equitable prosperity in our communities.”
ON-RAMP will establish four new workforce development centers, including three chosen competitively, and a flagship location in Central New York, based in Syracuse.
Also supporting workforce growth is the opening of Hudson Valley Community College’s (HVCC) STEM Education Center at the college’s HVCC North Extension Center in Malta, Saratoga County. The facility, which is open to students for the 2024-25 academic year, is part of the college’s $17.5 million HVCC North expansion project and will serve more than 1,000 students annually with coursework applicable to over 30 associate degree and certificate programs.
Located in NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology and Energy Park (STEP®), the two-story, 14,500-square-foot building includes state-of-the-art labs for microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, and biology, as well as classrooms, student support space and offices. The project includes renovations to the college’s Training and Education Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing and Alternative and Renewable Technologies (TEC-SMART). Together, the project provides new education and workforce training opportunities in the specialized and growing fields of healthcare, STEM, and skilled trades.