(WENY) – Recently President Joe Biden unveiled his massive $2 trillion infrastructure plan. One of the most ambitious proposals would include re-hauling the high-speed rail system.

Amtrak recently released a proposed map of new and expanded services, including services from New York City to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

“This would be a new Amtrak route, which would allow anyone along this route to access the national Amtrak system in New York City and potentially go to any of the 500-plus stations that Amtrak goes into in the US and Canada,” said Larry Malski, President of the Pennsylvania Northeastern Regional Railroad Authority.

While the route currently only includes parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania, there is a proposed extension involving Binghamton and the Southern Tier. Recently, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told WENY News he supported the proposal, saying Upstate New York should be one of the “prime beneficiaries” of the plan.

Passenger rail service to Scranton and the Southern Tier used to exist, but it ended in 1970.

The proposal would not only expand travel options, but it could benefit the local economy. Recently, Amtrak contracted Alstom in Hornell to produce its new fleet of train sets.

“They have major manufacturing enterprises there,” said Malski, “and that’s where a lot of the new equipment…which will be ordered for some of these new corridors.”

President Biden’s infrastructure plan must first be approved by Congress before it can be signed into law.

WENY News will continue monitoring that situation and how it could affect the Twin Tiers.