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Amtrak submits request for proposal for new high-speed trains
Yeah, the USA is only a half or three quarter century behind. In 1972 I snapped a Metroliner speedo showing 126 south of Trenton. I, like others, know the prospects, yet remain hopeful.
I think the Alstom’s Pendelino is the best fit, it has a top speed of 160-mph and like the Acela can be equipped for tilting. It has a great track record (Virgin Trains) having been exported to about a dozen nations, it also is in production.
Modifying it structurally to meet FRA standards shouldn’t be a problem if the Talgo could be so modified.
Amtrak maybe should Amtrak buy New Superliner cars first say 500 New Cars. Acela is just 14 years old years from the early 2000s.
Amtrak maybe should Amtrak buy New Superliner cars first say 500 New Cars. Acela is just 14 years old years from the early 2000s.
Amtrak is govt. corporation, its federal and its for profit. Boardman says ”boost the economy", he must mean foreign car maker’s economy not ours, 28? In the billions of $, I don’t think they will get even half that, the states served by the corridor will start getting tagged for more $. North Carolina, Illinois and now Indiana is showing a pattern of operation and financing that will spread to other routes. But what do I know? Just sayin!
“As demand for high-speed rail service reaches record levels…” Is it the demand for HSR that is increasing or the demand for trains with bigger windows, brighter interior, comfortable seats and excellent branding? The Acela sets are dogs but they nailed the presentation and marketing of this mutt.
RRE from Pa,
That “meeting or exceeding” phrasing Is used twice, 1st and 2nd ‘graphs’; I guess it flashed in your awareness like last Friday’s fireworks, like it did in mine.
I completely agree with your interpretation and I’d like to throw in this: maybe “meet or exceed” referred to “performance, and comfort” of today’s Acelas?
The way it’s written, in the report…How absurd?
First, Acela Express being self-funding or profitable is a myth. Second, Joe Boardman needs to explain why moving people within the NEC helps move the American economy forward while moving people within the Long Distance and regional/ state networks doesn’t, or maybe not as well. Boardman doesn’t get that he runs a NATIONAL railroad passenger corporation. It’s time for Joe to go.
I can’t think of any realistic bidder besides Alstom’s Pendolino platform. Though not specified in this article, I’m sure an active tilt system is a specification of the order.
As per many recent articles, is the NEC up to handling higher train speeds? Or will we have High Speed capable trains running at current speeds?
Given the gridlock in Congress, divine intervention may be the only way Amtrak’s proposal materialises in a timely manner. I hope and pray Amtrak succeeds.
Presumably given this is a private transaction rather than something being done via Federal involvement Amtrak can bypass the well meaning but expensive “Buy American” rules?
@PAUL E VINSON - They don’t need congressional action for this, Acela Express is entirely self funding (thankfully. Now if I can just get my fellow Florida Treasure Coasters to realize that Amtrak actually runs many profitable trains…)
The Acela Express has an income of half a billion dollars a year. It makes more money than all class II and class III railroads. The Florida East Coast Railway makes less money than the Acela Express and it runs a route roughly the same length.
We can go back and forth about whether the NEC is self funding, but yes, the Acela Express pays for itself, many, many, many, times over.
And yes, Amtrak has every right to update it. The Acela Express helps offset the spending cuts Congress imposes on Amtrak.
As for Joe, he’s somehow managing to keep Amtrak running despite the worst Congress I’ve ever seen. Amtrak’s revenues and reputation is rising. I think he’s doing a damned good job.
Two issues here. How to increase capacity in the short term and how to improve service while increasing capacity further in the long term.
For the short term: Realizing that any major permanent fix will take 20 years or more, AMTRAK should purchase more Acela motors and coaches and increase the consists and frequencies of the existing trains. Right now all Acela trainsets are six cars and two motors. It would be simple enough to determine ridership on each scheduled train, and add additional cars on the heavier traveled schedules rather than having a fixed consist on each train, and in addition have more trainsets available to run more frequently.
For the long term: I know a lot has been kicked around from building a whole new dedicated high speed route between Boston and Washington, to just purchasing newer, more efficient equipment. Don’t know the “shelf life” of the current equipment, but know that AMTRAK puts a priority on keeping Acela equipment in top shape. There may be continuing minor equipment or reliability problems I am unaware of, but if memory serves me right the only major problem the trainsets incurred was the wheelset/bolster problems five or six years ago that grounded the entire fleet. Other than that I believe they have been reliable, and have to believe that with proper care they should be functional for another 20 years. With all that would have to go into the planning, approving, and building a new dedicated high speed route, the only fix that could happen within the next 20 years would be the purchase of new equipment for the current physical plant. As long as the current physical plant must be utilized, speeds will never be much more than they are now, and will never be comparable to Europe and Japan’s high speed rail.
The new trainsets are to be “capable of meeting or EXCEEDING current Acela trip-times.” Horse-drawn stage coaches (and a host of other methods of transportation) certainly are capable of EXCEEDING current Acela trip-times. Or could the writer of this item mean that the new equipment is to be capable of “decreasing” or “shortening” Acela trip-times? Come on, let’s try to be a bit more precise in our word choices! (Perhaps I’m wrongly criticizing the writer of this piece. Does this specific wording appear in the formal Amtrak request document or their announcement of it? If so, transfer this “helpful critique” where it belongs.)
All we ever hear Boardman talk about in glowing terms is the N E C. Rush to buy new equipment to replace some of the “newest” equipment in the house because some trains are “sold out”.
Meanwhile, Superliner equipment has been needed for years! Sleeping car space is “sold out”, on many trains long in advance of their departure. We still can not get from F L to the west and northwest because of the failure to reinstate the Sunset. The Cardinal is always “packed” every time I have been on it. I don’t hear a “peep” out of Boardman addressing these priorities
““The Northeast Corridor needs more high- speed rail capacity to help move the American economy forward,” says Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman.”
No, what the American Economy needs to move it forward is a return to the “I give a damn” actions of Amtrak presidents like David Gunn and the termination of government lackeys like Joe Boardman who are more interested in fleecing the public by accepting a salary they haven’t earned. You can’t “cut” your way to success, especially when patrons expect more and would pay more for service that mattered. Boardman and his minions have no clue what service is and only seem bent of ruining all of Amtrak so the “easy money” NEC can continue to be subsidized by all other trains.
When more trainsets become available the present Acela trainsets should be reconfigured into eight car consists. The resulting surplus locomotives could be stored serviceable and used when active locomotives need repairs or maintainance.