DOT aids Amtrak NEC engine purchase
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefAmtrak’s planned purchase of 70 Cities Sprinter ACS-64 locomotives from Siemens Mobility, initiated last October, got a boost Wednesday from the Department of Transportation, in the form of a $562.9 million loan.
The loan, made under the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, falls under DOT’s goal to create manufacturing jobs across several states. DOT sait the loan is the largest issued through the RRIF program to date.
“The Obama Administration is committed to making strategic, long-term investments that create jobs and boost the economy now, and this financing plan is already putting Americans back to work at assembly plants and supply companies in Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, and Georgia,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (pictured at left).
Siemens has said it is adding 250 manufacturing jobs in three locations in order to design and build the Amtrak equipment. Traction motors and gear units will be produced in Norwood, Ohio; traction converters and braking choppers are being built in Alpharetta, Ga.; and final assembly of the locomotives will occur at Siemens’ Sacramento, Calif., facility.
The RRIF loan will also upgrade maintenance facilities and allow for the purchase of spare parts needed to support the new locomotives, DOT said.
DOT stressed that other suppliers will benefit, too, citing East Pittsburgh, Pa.-based PHW, Inc., which already been contracted to manufacture safety-related parts for the locomotives.
“The RRIF program is a model of how we can leverage federal dollars to spur private investment and build up the economy,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph C. Szabo. “It provides steady, affordable financing for major rail construction and expansion projects, and best of all, it comes at zero cost to the taxpayer.”
The Amtrak Cities Sprinter ACS-64 locomotives are in the final design phase, and will supplement and replace aging engines on the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor in Pennsylvania, including the current mainstay AEM-7 engines.
