HORSEHEADS, N.Y. — Siemens Mobility says it plans to build a “first-of-its-kind,” high-speed, rail-manufacturing facility in Horseheads, generating about 300 new jobs in the Southern Tier.
Those employees will be responsible for producing America’s fastest high-speed trainsets — the American Pioneer (AP) 220, for Brightline West, that will connect Las Vegas to Southern California, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) announced on Monday.
Siemens is a company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and health care, per its website. The firm is based in Munich, Germany with U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The new manufacturing facility in Horseheads will span nearly 300,000 square feet, with an estimated $60 million in new investment generating about 300 new jobs. The positions will include electro-mechanical assemblers; quality management, quality control, industrial production, and test engineers; project management; supply-chain management; and logistics employees.
Schumer explained Siemens Mobility will build its AP 220 trains at this new Horseheads facility. They’re designed for operational speeds of up to 220 miles per hour. The propulsion system, lighter weight, and aerodynamic shape “make it more efficient” than other high-speed trains, Schumer’s office said.
The seven-car trains will carry up to 450 passengers and are expected to make the trip from Las Vegas to Southern California in two hours — “half the time it takes by car.” The Brightline project is a $12 billion public-private partnership with the Nevada Department of Transportation (DOT) to build a Las Vegas-to-Los Angeles high-speed rail system, an effort that broke ground earlier this year.
Siemens Mobility says production at the facility is expected to begin in 2026, Schumer’s office noted.
“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,” Marc Buncher, CEO of Siemens Mobility North America, said in the Schumer announcement.
A $4 million grant from New York State’s FAST NY program is enabling the Chemung County Industrial Development Agency to help prepare the site for Siemens Mobility so that it can create good paying, union jobs in the Southern Tier and get the plant open quickly, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul, via the Schumer announcement.