The heads of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit were in Plattsburgh Wednesday afternoon.
MTA Chair and CEO Joseph Lhota and New York City Transit President Thomas Prendergast visited the Bombardier manufacturing plant in Plattsburgh Wednesday afternoon. The plant builds subway and commuter cars. In June the New York City MTA signed a 600 million dollar contract to build 300 state-of-the art subway cars for the New York City transit system. Lhota and Prendergast toured the plant to inspect cars that currently under construction for other cities.
Prendergast noted that the MTA has had a long relationship with Bombardier.
Joesph Lhota says about two-thirds of all the equipment made at the Bombardier plant ends up at either the New York City Transit Authority, the Long Island Railroad, or Metro-North. Lhota says the newest contract will impact the entire state economy.
Lhota and Prendergast say there were practical reasons for their tour of the Bombardier Plant.
Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gary Douglas notes that the MTA has been the single biggest customer of the Bombardier plant thru the years.
The MTA contract signed in June is in the design phase and manufacturing will begin in about a year.
