Brightline West Trainsets: It's Siemens

The Journal (subscription required) has an interesting article on who will win the contract to build the Las Vegas - Los Angeles train sets: WSJ.com

Fair-Use:

European Rail Giants Fight for Slice of U.S. High-Speed Train Line

Siemens and Alstom vie to supply planned Los Angeles to Las Vegas link
...
Siemens and Alstom are lobbying lawmakers and the Biden administration as they vie to supply high-speed power cars and passenger coaches for the trains of Brightline West, a privately owned venture that aims to connect the Los Angeles exurbs with Las Vegas. The companies are relying on powerful allies to boost their chances, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), a public champion of Alstom, which has a factory in his home state’s Southern Tier.
...
Siemens and Alstom are already fierce competitors in high-speed rail, an industry that has grown steadily for decades in Western Europe, Japan and China, as countries linked cities with trains topping 200 miles an hour. The fastest passenger train in the U.S., Amtrak’s Acela express service, reaches a top speed of 150 miles an hour in just a few sections of the Northeast Corridor linking Washington and Boston.
...
Schumer’s aides have pressed Alstom’s case to the Biden administration and Brightline, saying the company’s work developing the Acela fleet gives it a more robust U.S. supply chain that won’t require significant exemptions to comply with the administration’s Buy America rules for infrastructure projects, according to people familiar with the discussions.
...

Firewalled, unfortunately. Why does Chuck Schumer and others get to make decisions for Brightline, which is a private company? The beauty of Brightline is that it is a private company, making hopefully smart business decisions unlike a government Authority making political decisions.

My hunch is that there is some sort of pass-through federal funding involved in the project (such as loan guarantees by one state or the other) that would trigger those requirements. See https://www.ktnv.com/news/we-are-shovel ... -a-reality, but at the same time the OMB memo regarding the policy doesn't strictly apply to grants directly to for-profit companies.

Does Siemens have any 150mph+ options that are ready to roll? At least Alstom technically had the Acela2/Avelia Liberty design that's currently being manufactured for Amtrak in the NEC. I also wonder if a rebuild of the leased Acela1 sets is being talked about.

Nobody is rebuilding the Acela 1's except for Gillette or Budweiser..... into razor blades and beer cans.

Schumer must have gotten a big donation he needed to do a quid pro quo for...

Brightline will want to go with the vendor they choose. Congress *should* have zero influence on that.

And that vendor has been Siemens to date, who is actually located in one of the states being served by Brightline West.

In one of their filings earlier this year, they announced that the Siemens Velaro Novo was their intended choice for Las Vegas. Based on what the rest of the Velaro series has done, it's more than capable of the speeds needed.

(see page three in the FRA's decision letter on a waiver request: https://www.regulations.gov/document/FRA-2020-0096-0010 )

And they’ll have far less trouble than Amtrak with Avelia since the ROW will be brand new and they’ll buy “off the shelf”.

Siemens makes the most sense, given that Brightline has a ton of experience with them with their venture in Florida

Siemens gets the nod: ReviewJournal.com

Here’s who will build the trains for Brightline’s Vegas-to-LA rail line

Brightline West will feature Siemens Mobility trains capable of hitting 220 mph on its Las Vegas-to-Southern California high-speed rail line.

Brightline announced Wednesday that it has designated Siemens as its preferred bidder to build train sets for the 218-mile rail line to be constructed between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Each train set will feature seven cars that can carry 434-450 passengers and would be able to make the trip in less than two hours. From Rancho Cucamonga, passengers would be able to transfer to the Metrolink to further link into Southern California, including downtown Los Angeles.
...

PR: https://www.brightlinewest.com/media/pr ... train-sets

From the Press Release:
" In addition, the criteria considered future interoperability with the California High-Speed Rail project."

I caught that as well. Interesting.

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2024 10:52 am I caught that as well. Interesting.

But, What does it mean?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYnBKLXCG6A

From Brightline West's FAQ:

Are you planning a connection in Palmdale?
The High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency is working on a future connection between Palmdale and the Victor Valley Station that would link the California High Speed Rail and Brightline West systems. This effort – the High Desert Corridor – is in the planning stages. More information is available here.

How will Brightline West interact with California High Speed Rail?
Brightline West is working collaboratively with the California High Speed Rail Authority on future connectivity in Palmdale, as part of the High Desert Corridor. Brightline West is actively communicating with the Authority to share best practices, so the two high speed rail systems can be well coordinated for future interoperability.

scratchyX1 wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2024 3:25 pm

Jeff Smith wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2024 10:52 am I caught that as well. Interesting.

But, What does it mean?

It probably means they hope to ride CHSR tracks from Palmdale to LA Union Station, but they can't outright say that without reaching some agreements with the other parties.