Does anybody have ballpark estimates what the prices are for new locomotives (Traditional diesel, TGV, JetTrain, ICE, Maglev, or Acela)?
Thanks-
UkeDuke
A traditional diesel electric locomotive for passenger service will cost about $2M. Electrics seem to be going for more, though I don’t know why. Seems to me they should be less. Transformers are cheaper than diesel engines. The Acela, JetTrain, ICE etc. generally are priced by the train set, so how much the locos is unknown. NJT has placed recent orders for electric and diesel pass. locos. You might check their web sited for order details.
It seems the railroads don’t buy equipment any longer. They lease everything because they lack the capital budget to buy… Notice that Amtrak leased its new Acela trainsets, not to mention the new Genesis diesels… So it is difficult to compare prices…
It would be nice if Trains magazine would conduct the study and provide a list…
The reason why modern electrics cost more than modern diesels is because they are more efficient, more powerful (6000 HP is proving troublesome for diesels while electrics are hitting the 12,000 mark), and,I believe, have lower operating costs.
An european high speed locomotive for about 135 mph (built under european standards) may cost around $4 millions. Trains like TGV or ICE are sold as a whole and their price depends largely on the train size, speed and other features (like restaurant or bistro, separate locomotive or underfloor traction equipment, tilting)
Cheers
Recently Siemens in Europe sells their high power modern multi current (50Hz, 16 2/3Hz) electric locomotives for about 2.7 mil Euros.
The diesel engines are slightly cheaper.