WASHINGTON — Amtrak said it has exercised a contract option and ordered 10 additional Airo trainsets for use on regional and state-supported routes, bringing to 83 the total number of the trainsets to be manufactured by Siemens Mobility at its plant in Sacramento, Calif.
“We’re thrilled to satisfy the soaring demand for train travel with new state-of-the-art, American-made equipment that ensures the highest standards of comfort, service and amenities,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a press release issued today (Aug. 21). “These new trainsets will help us get people where they need to go, while reducing road and air congestion, creating jobs and supporting the American economy.”
The first of the new trainsets are scheduled for delivery in 2026. They are expected to be deployed on trains including the Northeast Regionals; Empire Service; Keystone Service; Downeaster; Pennsylvanian; Vermonter; Ethan Allen Express; Adirondack; Virginia, New Haven, and Springfield services; Palmetto; Carolinian; and Amtrak Cascades.
Amtrak introduced the Airo name, along with images and additional details on the equipment, at a press conference last year in New York City [see “Amtrak rolls out ‘Airo’ branding …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 15, 2022].
At that time, it said it had ordered 83 of the semi-permanently coupled trainsets — 73 dual-mode and 10 others — at a total cost of $7.3 billion. In response to a question from News Wire, a company spokeswoman said today Amtrak had “initially ordered 73 trainsets, with the goal of acquiring 10 additional units so long as the ridership outlook remained positive coming out of the pandemic. With ridership continuing to grow, we executed a contract option to purchase the additional 10 units.”
These beautiful new trainsets will hopefully entice people to ditch their gas cars and ride the rails more often. The entire fleet is expected to be operational in 2031.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
More likely out of their Tesla’s and other electric cars.
I think if the “Dr” were real he’d have responded to some of the commenters..Am I correct Dr!
Galen; yeah, he’s a real guy alright. Retired MD and he lives in Izmir, Turkey. Spends a lot of time in western europe. One of his several pastimes is; railroads.
58 of the 83 trainsets will also move on the NEC. Does anyone understand that the Amtrak will retire up to 58 ACS-64 Sprinters as a result? Whoever conducted the financial justification should explain themselves!!
The new train sets are replacing existing coaches and cab cars.
They will be used WITH the ACS-64 locomotives.
How many trainsets would be needed to cover today’s entire schedule of the routes mentioned?
George Pins says:
August 21, 2023 at 3:01 pm
Do you think you might enhance my reading experience by making thoughtful posts and cutting out the mindless, recurring blather?
I’m convinced the poster in question is an AI bot — the posts contain a lot of assorted facts but no pertinent content relevant to the thread.
We’ll see. Nothing else Amtrak orders gets built on time or works properly.
Can these trainsets be MUed together into a longer train as they do in Europe? Or are they limited to the capacity of a single trainset?
The link down below might be useful:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siemens_Venture#Operators
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
The trainsets will reach speeds of up to 125m/h (201km/h) and provide near-seamless transitions between power sources, eliminating the need for time-consuming locomotive swaps. They use less fuel and emit 90% lesser particulate matter when running on diesel power. Thanks to new Airo trains, Amtrak expects to add 1.5 million riders a year to its rail services.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
$88 million for a locomotive and 6 cars is a breathtaking price tag. Hopefully the Charger locomotives get their winter weather bugs worked out. We’ll probably see them in Empire Service in 2032.
?! Some websites suggest that delivery will commence in 2024 while the trainsets will commence operations in 2026.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
The Amtrak Airo trainsets are a key part of how Amtrak and Siemens Mobility are enhancing the American travelers’ experience with a focus on comfort and efficiency.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Do you think you might enhance my reading experience by making thoughtful posts and cutting out the mindless, recurring blather?
This is the largest North American Siemens Mobility contract in history.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün