Amtrak spending $7B on new passenger train cars, locomotives

Amtrak is spending $7 billion on new passenger train cars and locomotives, upgrading a fleet that’s almost half a century old.

Siemens Mobility Inc., a California-based company, will manufacture the 83 multi-powered trains, Amtrak announced on Wednesday.

The new rail cars are designed to provide individual power outlets and USB ports and a digital seat reservation system.

“These new trains will reshape the future of rail travel by replacing our aging 40-to-50-year old fleet with state-of-the-art, American-made equipment,” Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn said in a statement. “This investment is essential to preserving and growing our Northeast Regional and state-supported services and will allow our customers to travel comfortably and safely, while deeply reducing criteria pollutants.”

The new fleet will have lower carbon emissions, dual-powered engines and increased fuel efficiency, Amtrak said.

The purchase will create 2,100 jobs at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, Calif., as it manufactures the parts and complies with the Federal Railroad Administration Buy America Standards, Amtrak said.

The announcement by Amtrak comes after President Biden earlier this year unveiled an infrastructure proposal that would spend $80 billion to improve railways.

Experts in the industry said most of the proposed funding would go toward Amtrak and upgrading the company’s line.

“Amtrak doesn’t just carry us from one place to another. It opens up enormous opportunities,” Biden, a longtime Amtrak advocate, said in April.