Railroad Forums 

  • Acela Replacement and Disposition Discussion

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1118912  by goodnightjohnwayne
 
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-1 ... ela-trains
Amtrak Plans to Replace All High-Speed Acela Trains

Amtrak, the U.S. long-distance passenger railroad, said it scrapped plans to buy more passenger cars for its Acela service and instead will replace all 20 trainsets of locomotives and cars for its highest-speed service.

The railroad plans in early 2013 to issue a “request for information” from companies that could supply the equipment, according to a statement released today

Amtrak, the U.S. long-distance passenger railroad, said it scrapped plans to buy more passenger cars for its Acela service and instead will replace all 20 trainsets of locomotives and cars for its highest-speed service.

The railroad plans in early 2013 to issue a “request for information” from companies that could supply the equipment, according to a statement released today
 #1118948  by D.Carleton
 
Let's see here: NRPC tested a couple of options starting in 1993, chose Bombardier's American Flyer in 1996 and finally went into service as Acela in December of 2000. History does not repeat itself but it does ryhme. Maybe Acela II will turn a wheel in service by 2020... if nothing goes wrong.
 #1118951  by Greg Moore
 
D.Carleton wrote:Let's see here: NRPC tested a couple of options starting in 1993, chose Bombardier's American Flyer in 1996 and finally went into service as Acela in December of 2000. History does not repeat itself but it does ryhme. Maybe Acela II will turn a wheel in service by 2020... if nothing goes wrong.
I think things will move a bit faster this time around, but I wouldn't hold my breath. :-)
 #1118962  by D.Carleton
 
Greg Moore wrote:
D.Carleton wrote:Let's see here: NRPC tested a couple of options starting in 1993, chose Bombardier's American Flyer in 1996 and finally went into service as Acela in December of 2000. History does not repeat itself but it does ryhme. Maybe Acela II will turn a wheel in service by 2020... if nothing goes wrong.
I think things will move a bit faster this time around, but I wouldn't hold my breath. :-)
That may be optimistic. The first go-round was in the 1990's (and if you can remember the 1990's you weren't really there). With some prodding the powers-that-be found the money to push the wires to Boston and build some fancy new trains. Those days are loooooong gone. How many equipment builders are willing to wade into the quagmire of today's political reality? If anything this process will take longer than the first go-round.
 #1118969  by CarterB
 
For starters, who builds the German ICE, the French TGV and Japanese 'bullets"? I'd think they would all be contenders?

The way things are going, probably China as well. Lead paint and all!!
 #1118979  by M&Eman
 
Hopefully Acela 2.0 will have full tilt capabilities for the Shore Line as well as 8-10 cars to adequately meet demand. Hopefully they keep the first generation Acelas around and in service in some capacity.
 #1118985  by Fan Railer
 
CarterB wrote:For starters, who builds the German ICE, the French TGV and Japanese 'bullets"? I'd think they would all be contenders?

The way things are going, probably China as well. Lead paint and all!!
Siemens is already building the new locomotives for the NEC. Who else thinks they may have a heads up on Bombardier and Alstom on this one?
 #1118988  by Greg Moore
 
D.Carleton wrote:
Greg Moore wrote:
D.Carleton wrote:Let's see here: NRPC tested a couple of options starting in 1993, chose Bombardier's American Flyer in 1996 and finally went into service as Acela in December of 2000. History does not repeat itself but it does ryhme. Maybe Acela II will turn a wheel in service by 2020... if nothing goes wrong.
I think things will move a bit faster this time around, but I wouldn't hold my breath. :-)
That may be optimistic. The first go-round was in the 1990's (and if you can remember the 1990's you weren't really there). With some prodding the powers-that-be found the money to push the wires to Boston and build some fancy new trains. Those days are loooooong gone. How many equipment builders are willing to wade into the quagmire of today's political reality? If anything this process will take longer than the first go-round.
Oh, I bet someone will bid. We've got folks building new Viewliners and new bilevels.
 #1119025  by morris&essex4ever
 
CarterB wrote:For starters, who builds the German ICE, the French TGV and Japanese 'bullets"? I'd think they would all be contenders?

The way things are going, probably China as well. Lead paint and all!!
Let's hope it's not China.
 #1119042  by Greg Moore
 
morris&essex4ever wrote:
CarterB wrote:For starters, who builds the German ICE, the French TGV and Japanese 'bullets"? I'd think they would all be contenders?

The way things are going, probably China as well. Lead paint and all!!
Let's hope it's not China.
These will almost certainly be built with a "Build in America" requirement. So a majority of the work will almost certainly be done in the US.

That said, the paint might come from China.
 #1119043  by Tadman
 
Who owns the design to the current Acela - Amtrak or BBD?

If Amtrak owns the current design and has a laundry list of evolutionary changes (IE things that make it slightly lighter, more reliable, faster, or capacious) it shouldn't be a big deal. The Sumitomo bilevels are an evolution of the California car, and they're on a three year time table if I recall correctly.

On the other hand, if Amtrak doesn't own the design or they expect a clean sheet design, it's back to square one and ten years is a good estimate.

Can we please have 8-10 cars, though?

And what's disposition of the MkI Acela? Keystone service? Secondary train (IE regional) service? It would be interesting if they took the best of the power cars and coaches, and created 10-12 8-10-car sets for Regional service.
 #1119046  by The EGE
 
Is there anything other than the FRA rules (and possibly different catenary voltages) preventing an off-the-shelf European or Japanese design from being used?

The Acelas would make good Keystone equipment. They'd be a problem for Regionals since many trains go off-wire in Virginia and an engine swap wouldn't be possible.
 #1119115  by Tadman
 
Platform heights - European platforms are halfway between high and low platforms here, which probably means their floors are below NEC platforms. At that point you've either got to stool up the truck bolsters (bad idea for many reasons) or raise the floor, which is basically a clean sheet design.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 105