“This contract is moving full-speed ahead and that is good news for Californians, both in terms of job creation and better passenger rail service,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “Caltrans and IDOT are ready for these new railcars to provide additional seating capacity for our busy trains and support planned improvements to passenger service.”
Each car will be built at the Siemens rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento. The plant, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, is also powered in part by renewable energy. The Sacramento facility features full design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities for not only passenger coaches, but across the rolling stock industry including electric and diesel-electric locomotives, light rail, and streetcars.
“Siemens is excited to work with Sumitomo in their partnership with Caltrans and the IDOT by building 137 new passenger coaches at our Sacramento, CA rail manufacturing hub,” said Michael Cahill, president of Siemens Rolling Stock. “These coaches will use the industry’s latest, proven rail technology to provide passengers with a safe, modern and highly comfortable ride.”
The new coaches will be used on the intercity rail lines throughout California that serve almost 6 million passengers annually on the Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquin, and the Capitol Corridor. The new cars will come with spacious, modern interiors that focus on passenger comfort and convenience, such as Wi-Fi, spacious seats with convenient power outlets, large windows with great views for all passengers, bike racks, overhead luggage storage, work tables, state-of-the-art restrooms with touchless controls and full Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility throughout the cars.
“The CCJPA appreciates Caltrans’ efforts to bring these new California-manufactured passenger rail cars to the state’s successful intercity passenger rail program,” said Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Managing Director David Kutrosky. “These new rail cars will ensure that the California intercity passenger rail fleet can support future service expansion plans for these popular intercity rail corridors.”
The first cars are expected to begin production within the year.
— A California Department of Transportation news release. Nov. 8, 2017.
Mr. Vinson,
With the current Superliner cars, fumes could be eliminated from the sleepers simply by moving them to the back, rather than the front of the train. The private railroads always operated this way with their Pullman sleepers.
It would be great if Amtrak replace the ageing Superliners with single level cars. Through whole passenger trains between New York and the Pacific Coast and the Southwest would be feasible again. Full-length dome lounge cars can be built for western trains.
With the low profile of single level passenger cars, there would be no more diesel fumes that enter through the lead Superliner. First class passengers paying premium fares on trains where sleeping cars are at the front of the train need not breathe the fumes as Mother and I had on “The Coast Starlight”.
This announcement surprises me. The minutes of the Excecutive Board meeting of 11/7/2017 show the 11/21/2017 as the estimated date for the final ruling by the Excecutive Board: http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Documents/305%20Exec%20Brd%20minutes%20-11-7-17%20DRAFT.doc
See items 5 to 7. And then this announcement.
Any explenations?
Regards, Volker
Do these take the place of the cars that were supposed to be built for IDOT by Nippon-Sharyo at Rochelle, IL? I noticed that these are single level but I think the Nippon-Sharyo cars were to be bi-level. Also, a lot of California trains are bi-level already. Why return to single level?
Please disgregard my comment. I mistook Sumitomo for Nippon-Sharyo. My bad.
I hope Summitomo learned something from their previous passenger car debacle.
Good news; they should have been awarded the contract in the first place, the cars would be running now.