First Amtrak Cities Sprinters Enter Revenue Service
AMTRAK ACS-64 NO. 600 WAS THE FIRST of its type to pull a reg- ularly scheduled revenue train on February 7, 2014. The sleek new motor powered Northeast Regional train 171, which left Boston South Station at 8:15 a.m. leading a nine-car consist that was trailed by busi- ness car Beech Grove and its complement of officials. It’s shown here passing Princeton Junction, N.J., on Amtrak’s 24-mile New Jersey Racetrack, where Amfleet equipment is allowed 125 m.p.h. No. 600, along with Nos. 601 and 602, were unveiled at a ceremony on May 13, 2013, at the Seimens Mobility plant in Sacramento, Calif.,
Agence Métropolitaine de Transport
WILL BUY DEUX-MONTAGNES ROUTE: Montreal’s Agence Metropolitaine de Trans- port has reached an agreement with Canadi- an National to purchase the 18.6-mile, electri- fied Deux Montagnes line. AMT has been leasing the line, which carries 45 per cent of the system’s traffic and serves a dozen sta- tions. The sale will allow AMT to give prefer- ence to its trains over CN freights, which cur- rently operate from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.
Amtrak
HIGH SPEED TRAINSETS SOUGHT: On January 24, 2014, Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) issued a request for proposals to build modern, state- of-the-art high-speed trainsets. The trainsets are essential to meet Amtrak’s short-term need to expand the capacity of its current Northeast Corridor (NEC) high-speed service and to meet the long-term operational needs of both Amtrak and the CHSRA. Amtrak will order up to 28 high-speed
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RAILFAN.COM
which is assembling them and 63 mates. The new units were first test- ed at the Transportation Test Center in Pueblo, Colo., and later on Am- trak’s Northeast Corridor. Sister No. 601 entered revenue service in late February and locomotives up to No. 606 were also on the property; Nos. 601 and 602 have been tested on the Philadelphia-Harrisburg Keystone Line as well as the NEC. At press time Nos. 607 and 608 were being ferried east on the California Zephyr and Capitol Limited while Nos. 609 and 610 were waiting to be released from the factory. The order should be completed next year.
trainsets, each with between 400 and 450 seats, which can meet or exceed current Acela Express trip times on the existing NEC infra- structure between Washington, New York, and Boston. The CHSRA plans an initial order of 15 trainsets which will have a minimum of 450 seats that can meet its planned trip time requirements for service from the San Fran- cisco Bay Area to Los Angeles on what will largely be brand new infrastructure. One goal of the procurement is to identify whether established high-speed rail equip- ment manufacturers from around the world have service-proven designs that can meet both the short-term needs of Amtrak and the long-term operational needs of the CHSRA and Amtrak with little or no modification. It is also hoped that the joint procurement of equipment with a large degree of commonality will result in lower unit acquisition and life cycle costs for both Amtrak and the CHSRA, while helping expand the U.S. role in high- speed rail equipment manufacturing. The CHSRA requires operation at speeds of a minimum of 200 m.p.h., which is similar to what Amtrak expects it will need to realize its Vision for High-Speed Rail on the NEC. Ini-
tially, Amtrak intends to operate at peak speeds of 160 m.p.h. because that is the ex- pected maximum allowable speed permitted by NEC infrastructure at the time these train- sets are delivered. Only current manufacturers of high-speed
rail equipment, which the partners define as manufacturers with equipment in commercial operation at speeds of at least 160 m.p.h. (257 k.p.h.) for at least two years, will be eligible to submit a bid. Proposals are due May 17 and it is expected that a builder will be selected by the end of 2014.
EMD PROTESTS SIEMENS AWARD: Elec- tro-Motive Diesel has filed a protest with the Illinois Department of Transportation over IDOT’s recommendation that an order for 35 higher-speed diesel locomotives be awarded to Siemens Mobility (see February RAILNEWS). The builder says that at 4200 h.p. the Siemens locomotives are underpowered (vs. the EMD F125 at 4700 h.p.) and will not be able to meet the RFP’s performance requirements. While EMD released the specifications for its locomo- tive last year, Siemens has yet to make any in- formation on its units public.
STEVE BARRY
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