The Daily Freeman is reporting more than $28 million in federal funds have been secured by New York's senior Senator Chuck Schumer in an effort to overhaul the Rhinecliff train station. Democrat Schumer announced the $28,222,897 award in a press release on Aug. 22. The federal dollars will support the state’s work in overhauling the train station that has been in severe disrepair for more than 15 years, the press release said. The funds are needed to pay for federally mandated Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant “infrastructure upgrades and modernizations the station required for its hundreds of thousands of commuters each year,” according to the release. The planned work will replace the existing 520-foot-long low-level platform with a new, longer and safer high-level platform, along with other much-needed infrastructure and accessibility upgrades. The money will be also used to complete related track and signal work and for stairs, elevators, and a pedestrian bridge. “...[I]t is my pleasure to say to the commuters of the Hudson Valley that over $28 million in federal funding will now give Rhinecliff the infrastructure and accessibility upgrades it has desperately needed," Schumer said. Rhinebeck Town Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia said, “This $28 million federal investment shows that our years-long efforts have paid off and will assist New York state and Amtrak in its design and construction work to upgrade the platform and make it more accessible for our residents.” Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.