Amtrak names New York station in honor of late congresswoman

Amtrak has dedicated and renamed its train station in Rochester, New York, after the late U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), a longtime Amtrak supporter.

The station opened in October 2017, the result of a 15-year process of planning by several stakeholders including Slaughter, who secured a $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for the work, according to an Amtrak press release.

Slaughter, who died in March 2018, secured a total of $18.5 million in federal funds for the station's construction.

At a ceremony held Monday, Slaughter's daughters Emily Robin Minerva and Megan Secatore were joined by Amtrak officials, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rochester Lovely Warren and others to dedicate the station. It will be called the Louise M. Slaughter Rochester Station.

The new station replaced a former facility originally built as a temporary site but was used for 36 years.

"Throughout the six decades my mother lived in the Rochester area, she took steps, both large and small, to improve our quality of life here. Securing the federal funds to bring this beautiful, modern train station to reality, was one of her biggest accomplishments for this community," said Minerva.