Gillibrand, Schumer, Riley Call On Norfolk Southern And Union Pacific Corportation To Repair Dilapidated Bridged

Gillibrand, Schumer, Riley Call On Norfolk Southern And Union Pacific Corportation To Repair Dilapidated Bridged

Jun 5, 2026

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Representative Josh Riley (D-NY-19) urged the chief executive officers of Norfolk Southern and the Union Pacific Corporation to prioritize public safety and commit to conducting critical repairs on four railroad bridges spanning Water and State streets.

The lawmakers' push follows a 2023 city-commissioned inspection that found 12 railroad bridges owned and operated by Norfolk Southern to be in "severe" or "poor" condition. In the letter, the members wrote, "Irrespective of the final decision of the proposed merger between Union Pacific Corporation and Norfolk Southern Corporation by the Surface Transportation Board, we ask that you commit to completing essential infrastructure upgrades to these bridges."

While Norfolk Southern has rehabilitated bridges over Glenwood Avenue, Jarvis Street, Front Street, and Murray Street, with work set to begin on the Brandywine Avenue bridge this week, four structures over Water and State streets remain untouched, posing ongoing safety concerns for the community. The members underscored, "Signs of distress on these bridges found in the 2023 report were incredibly alarming, with the two bridges located on Water Street identified to be in the most severe condition of the twelve total bridges that needed repairs. Norfolk Southern indicated its plans to begin a multi-phase rehabilitation project to address repairs needed by the four bridges on Water Street and State Street this year, but to this date has not begun to do so."

The members closed the letter by urging the CEOs at both companies to prioritize the safety of Binghamton residents and swiftly finish repairs on the remaining bridges. They also sought a commitment to "continued long-term maintenance of all railway infrastructure currently owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad in the City of Binghamton."

In 2023, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand pushed Norfolk Southern to publicly release its private inspection report and called on the company to eliminate potential structural and safety issues in the City of Binghamton. Following the devastating 2023 freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which caused a massive fire and chemical spill, Schumer introduced the bipartisan Railway Safety Act of 2023, legislation to help create new rail safety protocols, hold railroads accountable for malfeasance, and increase transparency of trains carrying hazardous materials. The senators personally wrote to the head of Norfolk Southern and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to immediately work with the city to address these safety concerns and urged the FRA to conduct its own inspection of the bridges in question to understand the safety threats to the Binghamton community. This effort builds on the senators' advocacy to strengthen rail safety, improve transparency, and get answers from railroad companies who put Upstate NY communities at risk.

The full letter can be found HERE.

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