Siemens awarded $225M locomotive contract

Siemens was awarded a $225 million contract to build 32 diesel-electric locomotives for the Multi-State passenger rail locomotive procurement being led by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT).

The procurement is being done on behalf of the Departments of Transportation from five states: Illinois, California, Michigan, Washington and Missouri. The project includes options for 225 additional locomotives, with the first of the vehicles set to be delivered in 2016.

The Charger locomotives will be built at the Siemens rail manufacturing facility in Sacramento, Calif. The plant, which has been in operation for almost 30 years, is powered up to 80% by two megawatts of solar energy and currently employs over 800 people.

All main components of the new locomotive will be produced in Siemens plants in the U.S., including traction motors and gearboxes in Norwood, Ohio and propulsion containers in Alpharetta, Ga. The diesel engines will be manufactured by Cummins in its Seymour, Ind. plant.

Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives are built on Siemens’ proven Vectron platform, currently pulling some 1,600 passenger and freight cars throughout Europe. The electric version of this locomotive was rolled out last year in the U.S. by Amtrak and is currently in service along its highly-traveled Northeast Corridor.

The Charger will be powered by a high-performance, environment-friendly, 4400 hp-rated Cummins QSK95 diesel engine designed to ensure compliance with Federal Railroad Administration EPA Tier IV emissions regulations, required to be in place in 2015.