The first of Amtrak’s 28 new Acela trainsets, scheduled to enter service throughout the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in 2021, will be leaving from Alstom’s facility in Hornell, N.Y. on Monday, Feb, 17 for high-speed testing at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colo. Nine months of dynamic testing will include the trainset’s pantograph, railway dynamics, tilting, traction, slip/slide and wayside protection, brakes, and train control management systems. Once complete, the trainset will return to Alstom for installation of its interiors.
The new trains will accommodate nearly 25 percent more customers while continuing the spacious, high-end comfort of the current Acela service. Each train will feature improved Wi-Fi access, personal outlets, USB ports and adjustable reading lights and feature sustainable components, including seating made from recycled leather.
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Acela trains are also the country’s fastest, most comfortable and all-electric intercity trains, providing a more environmentally friendly way to travel. Amtrak will further reduce its carbon footprint by using 40 percent less energy per Acela customer when these trains enter service.
In preparation for the new fleet, Amtrak is undertaking a record amount of track and infrastructure work along the NEC aimed at improving ride quality, increasing reliability, and increasing overall on-time performance.
Amtrak served more than 3.5 million Acela customers in FY19, a 4.3% increase from FY18.
In Dec. 2019, Acela had its best month ever, with a 16% ridership increase over the previous year.
Alstom is building the next-generation high-speed Acela trainsets using parts manufactured by nearly 250 suppliers in 27 states, with 95 percent of the components produced domestically. More than 1,300 new jobs are being generated in nearly 90 communities across the U.S. to support production, including the creation of new, sustainable, high-tech, engineering and manufacturing jobs. Alstom employs more than 800 people in Hornell, including members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Alstom has also completed the assembly of its second trainset, which is expected to travel to Amtrak’s Penn Coach Yard in Philadelphia for testing in March 2020. The construction of the third trainset began in November 2019 and is tentatively scheduled to travel to Philadelphia for testing in September 2020.
Amtrak will open grant applications March 23 for community projects near the Frederick Douglass Tunnel alignment in Baltimore as part of a $50 million investment tied to the B&P Tunnel Replacement Program.
The Denmark Station $2.3 million construction investment project includes a new 280-foot concrete boarding platform, built eight inches above the top of rail, for improved accessibility for passengers with disabilities and families with small children and much more.
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
