Amtrak releases Fleet Strategy Plan Version 3.1

Amtrak announced its Fleet Strategy Plan Version 3.1 today, part of an ongoing effort to expand its fleet of equipment to meet surging ridership demands.  By replacing aging locomotives and passenger rail cars, the company will also improve the onboard experience of its passengers, improve safety, and increase operational reliability.

“This strategy provides Amtrak with a flexible and adaptable approach to fleet management and will deliver an enhanced product to satisfy the expectations, wants and needs of our customers,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman.

[Read the Fleet Strategy Plan Version 3.1]

Amtrak is facing a confluence of three forces: a fleet of equipment with an average of over 28 years, tight state and federal funding pictures, and record levels of ridership seen in eight of the past nine years.  This has led to a tension between steadily increasing passenger demand and a constricted supply of seats.  Amtrak’s new fleet plan attempts to accommodate these three forces by strategically approaching the acquisition of new equipment to meet the projected increase in demand for intercity and high-speed passenger rail service. 

From Amtrak’s press release: 

Amtrak has built its fleet strategy on a thorough understanding of the intercity passenger rail business, a conservative view of its growth prospects and a clear vision to dramatically expand U.S. intercity passenger rail in collaboration with its federal and state partners on the foundation of rail’s inherent advantages as a greener and safer form of travel. 

Presently, Amtrak has made two major equipment contract awards. The first is for 70 new electric locomotives to replace the entire electric locomotive fleet now operating on the Northeast and Keystone Corridors. The $466 million contract was awarded to Siemens Transportation of Sacramento, Calif., which is to deliver units for service beginning in 2014. The other is for 130 new single-level long-distance cars consisting of diners, sleepers, baggage and baggage/dormitory cars to replace some of the oldest equipment in the fleet that dates back to the 1940s and 1950s. The $298 million contract was awarded to CAF USA of Elmira, N.Y., which is to deliver units beginning in the fall of 2013.