LOS ANGELES — To help provide additional equipment for Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains, the service’s operating agency has turned to using seven rebuilt, ex-New Jersey Transit Comet 1B coaches for the past seven months.
The Comet 1B coaches, which arrived in Los Angeles in June of 2024, were originally part of a larger, 14-car purchase by Caltrans in 2008 to meet rising ridership levels on San Joaquin service. Prior to entering service on the San Joaquin route, Caltrans paid Amtrak $20 million for all 14 cars to be rebuilt with reclining seats, tray tables, WiFi, two power outlets at each seat pair, luggage racks, trash/recycling bins, a restroom, and six workstation tables in the center of the car.
As new Siemens Venture coaches entered service on the San Joaquin route in early 2024 [see “Venture cars officially launched on Amtrak San Joaquins,” Trains News Wire, March 6, 2024], the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) agency was able to secure half of the rebuilt Comet coach fleet for Pacific Surfliner service.
The coaches had operated on six-car San Joaquin trains that included a rebuilt Amtrak Horizon Dinette food service car. Because the Dinettes were unavailable for service in Southern California, LOSSAN has been operating the coaches in five, six, and full seven-car trains with onboard staff handing out snacks to business-class passengers.
To assist with the push-pull operations that Pacific Surfliners utilize, LOSSAN also leased two Amtrak Non-Powered Control Units (NPCU) or “cabbage” locomotives [see “Amtrak NPCU ‘Cabbage’ locomotives,” Trains.com, Nov. 4, 2024] that were similarly leased by the San Joaquin Join Power Authority for San Joaquin service. One of the NPCUs was later returned to Oakland to allow an additional Siemens Venture trainset to be added into the San Joaquin equipment rotation.
When newer Siemens SC44 Charger locomotives are not available to use on the Comet 1B trainset, it is not uncommon to spot an Amtrak P42DC or Dash-8BWH locomotive on the Comet 1B trainset. If the remaining NPCU is undergoing routine maintenance, a locomotive is used on each end of the Comet 1B trainset as the standard bilevel Pacific Surfliner cab cars are not compatible with the single-level equipment.
Yes 100%
Yes and yeah futures Amtrak Pacific Surfliners.
I always want futures Amtrak Pacific Surfliners and I always love futures Amtrak Pacific Surfliners.
Alex, you caught the top photo at just the right time! The morning sunlight highlights the subject matter perfectly! The background is breathtaking. This would certainly qualify for one of the old Amtrak wall calendars if they were still made, currently similar to ongoing Norfolk Southern wall calendars (available through “www.nscompanystore.com”)
WALTER FRITZ, OBER, INDIANA, 574-772-4766
“When newer Siemens SC44 Charger locomotives are not available to use on the Comet 1B trainset, it is not uncommon to spot an Amtrak P42DC or Dash-8BWH locomotive on the Comet 1B trainset. If the remaining NPCU is undergoing routine maintenance, a locomotive is used on each end of the Comet 1B trainset as the standard bilevel Pacific Surfliner cab cars are not compatible with the single-level equipment.”
Tell me this is not a government funded operation.