As part of President's Biden's proposed $2.2 trillion American Jobs plan, $80 billion would go toward improvements to Amtrak's train service.

What You Need To Know

  • $80 billion would be set aside for expansion and improvement to Amtrak service under Pres. Biden's infrastructure plan
  • Congressman Brian Higgins is calling for upgrades to the Niagara Falls to Toronto route to be a priority
  • Leaders say economic benefits shared between the countries would come from the investment
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Congressman Brian Higgins, (D) NY-26, says some of that money should go to enhancing the route between Niagara Falls, N.Y. and Toronto. 

"A robust schedule of train service between Western New York and Ontario will be important not just to the local economy, but to the national economic recovery as well," Higgins said.

Prior to the start of pandemic last year, roughly 100 passengers a day used the Niagara Falls Train Station.

"Those numbers certainly could be higher," Higgins said. "And I think initiatives like this will make that number go higher."

Amtrak previously operated the Maple Leaf line from New York City to Toronto — with stops in Buffalo and Niagara Falls — which has been suspended indefinitely because of the border closure. People on board had sometimes a two-hour wait to get through customs at the border, and it only ran once a day in each direction.

Higgins says adding more lines with faster, more efficient service could bring more people travelling to and from our region. 

"Our airports, shopping centers, restaurants, cultural destinations and sports teams benefit from our proximity to the Canadian border," he said.

The border closure has certainly hurt the city of Niagara Falls and surrounding regions without Canadian tourism and shopping dollars coming into the area.

"We know that we are moving very quickly to try and develop this northern portion of Main Street," said Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino. "Part of the development involves the integration of Southern Ontario as a critical piece in order to kick-start and rejuvenate N. Main Street." 

But the Canadians will have to go along with plans to upgrade the routes on their side of the border to make this happen.

"We have to convince them, and I don't think it's a hard thing to do given that $2 billion every day goes across the border and 400,000 people, that it's mutually beneficial," Higgins said.

Any talks of increasing traffic between increasing traffic between the United States and Canada hinge largely on reopening the border, which has been closed to non-essential travel form more than a year because of the pandemic. It's something Higgins continues to push for.

"Nobody is suggesting that the border be opened arbitrarily," Higgins said. "We have to have a safe opening of the border in order to have a successful opening of the border."

Higgins is also calling for resumption planning of shared border management.