Venture Coaches Withdrawn Over Magnet Issue

Two Venture coaches were in the consist of Lincoln Service Train No. 301 at Springfield, Illinois, on March 1.

Amtrak has temporarily withdrawn new Venture cars from operation on Midwest Corridor trains due to technical issues.

Trains magazine reported on its website Friday that magnets in the four-seat work tables in the coaches were disrupting operation of smart phones and laptops computers by causing them to shut down. The magnets are used to lock extensions on the tables.

The report said Amtrak is eyeing a short-term fix of affixing brackets that prevent passengers from extending the outer flaps until correct-strength magnets can be installed.

Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Speegle said his agency is working with Amtrak and Seimens, which built the Venture cars, to solve the problem.

IDOT was the lead agency involved in the acquisition of the cars, which also will be used on corridor services in Missouri, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Venture cars began revenue service in February on the Chicago-St. Louis corridor.

Thus far only coaches have been delivered from Siemens to Amtrak, although three combination business class and coach class cars are in the process of being accepted.

The combination cars will have 36 business class seats, which is double what is currently available in Horizon and Amfleet equipment used in Midwest corridor service.

Amtrak Sets Deal to Buy New Trainsets

Amtrak will spend billions to buy new trainsets from Siemens Mobility that will replace Amfleet I equipment in the Northeast Corridor and state-supported corridor trains.

How much the deal is worth depends on whose news release you read. Siemens said the deal is worth $3.4 billion while Amtrak put it at $7.3 billion.

The Amtrak news release indicated that the contract also covers parts and service, facilities upgrades and other related expenses. The deal has an option for up to 140 additional trainsets and related maintenance agreements.

Siemens characterized the contract as its largest North American order in its history.

Back in April Amtrak had announced it had chosen Siemens to build replacement equipment for its corridor trains.

Corridor trains expected to get the new equipment include the Adirondack, Carolinian, Amtrak Cascades, Downeaster, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Keystone Service, Maple Leaf, Hartford Line and Valley Flyer, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter and Virginia services.

The long-distance Palmetto between New York and Savannah, Georgia, also will receive the new trainsets.

Amtrak said the Siemens order will include dual-power and battery hybrid trains, therefore ending locomotive changes in Washington and New Haven, Connecticut.

Also displaced by the new equipment will be dual-mode locomotives now used on Empire Corridor trains.

The announcement did not say how the order is to be divided between dual-mode and hybrid equipment.

Trains will have individual power outlets and USB ports, onboard WiFi, a digital seat reservation system, and trip information and digital navigation displays.

Cars will have ADA accessible restrooms, vestibules, and food service cars, wheelchair lifts, and inductive hearing loops.

Few other details about the makeup of the trainsets were provided other than saying they will have predictive maintenance technology and real-time digital monitoring

Siemens plans to build the trainsets in Sacramento, California, with the first deliveries being made in 2024. Deliveries will be completed in 2030.

Siemens to Build New Cars for Amtrak

Amtrak will contract with Siemens for new equipment that will be assigned to service in the Northeast Corridor, on some state-supported trains and for the New York-Savannah, Georgia, Palmetto.

The passenger carrier said Siemens was chosen as the “preferred bidder” to build 83 intercity trainsets.

Siemens is already constructing new Venture cars to be used for Midwest and California corridor services.

Amtrak said it chose Siemens as part of a competitive procurement process that began in January 2019.

The new equipment will feature dual power in some cases and will replace Amfleet I and Metroliner cab cars.

The equipment is also expected to replace existing equipment used in Cascades Service in the Pacific Northwest.

Siemens and Amtrak are talking about a contract for construction and long-term service that both parties hope to sign this summer.

The contract would also include technical support, spares and material supply.

An Amtrak spokeswoman said the carrier would not release any other information about the equipment order beyond what was reported in a news release.

New Rail Cars Arrive for Testing

Four new passenger cars built by Siemens have been delivered to Amtrak’s Chicago service facility for testing.

The cars, which were ordered by the Illinois Department of Transportation, are to be used on state-supported Midwest corridor trains.

Known as Venture cars, the single-level cars are built to a design pattern that Siemens used to construct coaches for Florida’s Brightline intercity service.

IDOT and its partner departments of transportation have ordered 88 of the Venture cars in coach, coach-business and coach-café configurations.

The cars are expected to be delivered through 2023. They are being built in Sacramento, California, where Siemens is also building an order of ALC-42 Chargers for Amtrak that will pull long-distance trains once they enter revenue service.

The Siemens passenger cars have a long and convoluted history that dates to 2012 when IDOT ordered  bi-level cars from Japanese manufacturer Sumitomo, which subcontracted construction of the cars to Nippon Sharyo, which had a manufacturing plant in Rochelle, Illinois.

However, a prototype car failed a crash safety test in 2015.

IDOT ultimately switched the contract to Siemens, which agreed to build single-level cars for the transportation agency over a 24- to 34-month period.

In addition to the cars being built for IDOT, Siemens is building 49 single-level cars for the California Department of Transportation for use on corridor trains in that state.

Once the new passenger cars enter service on Midwest corridor routes serving Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Michigan, it will mean that the trains will have Siemens locomotives (SC-44 Chargers) and Siemens passengers.

Midwest trains currently use a combination of Horizon Fleet and Amfleet cars.

Pittsburgh Transit Cars to be Rebuilt

Light rail transit vehicles in Pittsburgh will be rebuilt during a two year project that will cost $2 million.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County, which operates the light rail network, said the work will begin in the fall and affect 55 Siemens-built cars.

The work, which will take two years to complete, is expected to extend the life of the cars by six years

Some of the cars being rebuilt were delivered in the middle 1980s when the light-rail system opened.

Twenty-eight cars built by CAF will be evaluated. Those cars, acquired in the early 2000s, were already due for a mid-life upgrade.

SEPTA, MARC Motors Pass Through Region

Last Friday CSX train W991 was a complete surprise. When it hit the detector west of Warwick, the detector said there were 22 axles.

Needless to say, I expected something like a work train with a few gondolas. Instead I was able to photograph CSX 340 eastbound with one SEPTA and three MARC locomotives. The number on the SEPTA unit looks like 90 while the MARC units appear to be 82, 81, and 80. While the detector said 22 axles, there appears to be an extra locomotive at the end. That would give 26 axles.

Also shown are CSX 1513 and its partner are the power for CSX train D750.

The locomotives are ACS-64 electrics that left the Siemens factory in Sacramento, California.

The SEPTA unit is the first ACS-64 to be delivered to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which serves the Philadelphia region.

SEPTA awarded Siemens a $118 million contract in 2015 to supply 13 ACS-64s to replace its eight AEM-7 and ALP-44 locomotives on Lansdale-Doylestown, Paoli-Thorndale, and Wilmington-Newark commuter services, and expand the electric locomotive fleet to meet additional ridership demand.

The ACS-64s will operate with SEPTA Regional Rail’s existing fleet of 36 Bombardier double-deck coaches as well as 45 new coaches ordered last year from CRRC Tangshan, which are due to be delivered from 2019 onwards.

The motors are expected to begin revenue service in early 2018.

Photographs by Robert Farkas

Siemens Cars to Replace Sharyo Cars

Single-level passenger cars built by Siemens will replace bi-level coaches that were to have been built by Nippon Sharyo. The cars are to be used on Amtrak corridor routes funded by state governments.

The departments of transportation of California and some Midwest states had ordered 130 bi-level cars from Sharyo that were to be built in Rochelle, Illinois.

However, design problems and the inability of a prototype to pass federal rigidity tests delayed the order.

The California Department of Transportation, which is leading procurement of the cars, has said it will substitute 130 Siemens cars for the Sharyo order.

The number of seats will be reduced, but state officials said the time frame for delivering the cars will be shortened from five years to 24 to 34 months.

In the Midwest, the Siemens cars are expected to replace Horizon equipment.

Charger Locomotives Set for Testing

The first Charger passenger locomotives have been sent to Colorado for testing.

Two SC-44 diesels built by Siemens are being tested at TTCI’s Pueblo facility.

The locomotives are part of an order of 32 being built under a $228 contract for use on Amtrak corridor routes in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, California and Washington state.

The Chargers can operate at up to 125 mph and come with a Cummins QSK95 prime mover rated at 4,400 horsepower.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is expected to take delivery of the first Chargers in December.

The units are being assembled in Sacramento, California.

Siemens is also building additional Chargers for use in Maryland and Florida. The Chargers are compliant with EPA Tier 4 emission standards.

1st Charger Locomotive Ready for Testing

Siemen announced that its first Charger passenger locomotive has left the factory and will now undergo testing.

The Chargers are designed to operate at speeds of up to 125 mph and will be used on various Amtrak corridor services in the Midwest and West.

The first Charger will be delivered for use in Washington state.

The locomotives have a Cummins QSK95, a 16-cylinder, 95-liter-displacement engine rated at 4,400 horsepower that meets EPA Tier IV emissions standards.

Siemens is building 69 Chargers for the Departments of Transportation in Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri, Washington state and Maryland.

Brightline, the privately owned and operated express passenger rail service to be offered by Florida East Coast Industries subsidiary All Aboard Florida, has also ordered Charger locomotives

The Chargers are being assembled in Sacramento, California.

1st Engine Placed in Charger Carbody

Siemens recently installed the first engine and traction alternator into the carbody of a locomotive intended for use pulling Amtrak trains on Midwest and West Coast corridor routes.

The 21-ton Cummins QSK95 diesel engine was placed in a Charger locomotive at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, California.

Siemens is manufacturing 69 Chargers for the Departments of Transportation in Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri, Washington and Maryland, and for Brightline, the privately owned and operated express passenger rail service to be offered by Florida East Coast Industries subsidiary All Aboard Florida.

Siemens also is manufacturing at its Sacramento plant passengers coaches for Brightline.

Built in Seymour, Indiana, the Cummins QSK95, is a 16-cylinder, 95-liter-displacement engine rated at 4,400 horsepower.

Siemens described the engine as “engineered with modern technologies and design features that ensure the highest performance, lowest fuel consumption, cleanest emissions, and lowest total cost of ownership of any locomotive engine.”

The Charger locomotives are EPA Tier IV emission compliant and can operate at up to 125 mph.