Stamford Mayor David Martin heads to Washington, D.C., this week to testify at a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation”™s Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security.
Martin is expected to speak Thursday, 2:30 p.m., on the need for investments in rail infrastructure and the importance of rail to Stamford and to the state. The New Haven rail line is the busiest rail line in North America, carrying 39 million passengers per year.
The hearing is titled “Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Local Perspectives on Moving America.”
“The future of the New Haven line is perhaps the single biggest factor affecting our future growth and success as a city,” Martin said. “The decision to defer maintenance over the past several decades has resulted in a severely aged and failing infrastructure. It is critical that we make the investments necessary to support growing ridership and an expectation of safe and reliable service.”
Martin said he will make a direct appeal for more funding.
According to the Senate Democratic Press Office, the hearing will focus on the reauthorization of surface transportation programs and explore the impacts of transportation investments on states, communities and other users of the transportation system. It will also highlight how transportation investments help drive the economy and create jobs.
Martin will avail himself of subcommittee member questions afterward.
The public can watch the hearing live on the Senate Commerce Committee website.
