[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 157 (Friday, September 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E831-E832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF NEW HAVEN'S UNION STATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 11, 2020

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with my heartfelt congratulations 
that I rise today to join the Connecticut Department of Transportation 
and the City of New Haven to celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of 
our very own Union Station--a remarkable milestone for this community 
treasure.
  Union Station holds a special place in my heart as it has been of my 
life for many years. Having attended Lauralton Hall in Milford, I was 
at Union Station every day to catch the train to school. Today, as a 
Member of Congress, the train is how I commute to work every week. In 
fact, I would be remiss if I did not extend a special note of gratitude 
to the Red Caps of Union Station who have helped me with all of my 
luggage getting to and from the train on numerous occasions--without 
them I may have missed many trains. Designed by famed architect Cass 
Gilbert, with its vaulted ceilings and marbled brick, decorated with 
oblong benches upon which model trains are showcased, Union Station is 
not only a bustling intermodal center, it is a work of art. And though 
the original flip-card scheduling board has been replaced with an 
electronic version, that unique ticking sound of the flip-cards can 
still be heard throughout the Grand Hall as trains arrive and depart.
  Now in its centennial year, Union Station is one of the busiest rail 
facilities in the State of Connecticut along one of the busiest rail 
lines in the United States. It serves more than one hundred-twenty-five 
thousand passengers weekly and more than forty million a year,

[[Page E832]]

generating nearly fifty million dollars in revenue a year into our 
local economy. But beyond its economic importance to our community, its 
value lies in the connection it brings to us. It connects the New Haven 
line into New York City, the Hartford Line into Hartford and 
Springfield. It also connects the Shoreline East into New London and 
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C. and points 
beyond.
  Most importantly, Union Station connects our past to our future. 
Opened in the shadow of the Spanish Influenza pandemic, it is a 
particularly poignant reminder of what can be done and what must be 
done even amid calamity. We stand here today to both celebrate that old 
victory and to set our eyes forward to new ones. It is inspiring to see 
a local reminder of what America can do when we build toward a better 
future through infrastructure and when we at all levels of government 
support local priorities.
  I extend my deepest thanks and sincere appreciation to all the 
workers who keep Union Station running every day--especially those 
declared essential at this difficult time. I am honored to stand today 
and join all of those gathered in wishing this remarkable institution a 
very happy 100th anniversary. As we say in Italian, Cent' Anni.

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