Haven’t heard anything except for the 110 mph upgrade which would suit the equipment just fine.
Now are you sure you don’t want to wish for a return to Nystrom Trucks because that has about as much chance happening as the Midwest choosing the Talgo.
3 problems as I see it. First the Wolverine service requires 3 train sets, there are only 2 Talgos available with no chance of reopening the production line. Second would be the need to establish a maintenance base in Mi. And Mi has already entered into a purchase agreement for the vaporware NS corridor car.
So I read somewhere a firm purchased 50 of the former Santa Fe Hi-Levels from Amtrak and is trying to market them to the Midwestern Consortium as a stand in for the new HSR cars. Here is a link to their flyer, they want to rebuild the cars to hold more passengers…
http://ccrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/HiLevel_Fleet_Equipment_Illustration_Page.pdf
If they are the original El Capitan cars - they are 60 years old.
So, isn’t this firm (Corridor Capital) the same outfit that originally won the contract to run the Hoosier State, and then lost it to Iowa Pacific because it couldn’t get its equipment lined up? If so, it doesn’t say much about their ability to actually do (on a timely basis) what is shown in the glossy brochure.