Amtrak San Joaquins, Caltrans Deploy New Siemens Venture Cars

A Siemens Mobility Venture trainset at the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission facility in Stockton, Calif. (Caltrans)

The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) on March 5 celebrated the launch of new, state-of-the-art Siemens-manufactured Venture Cars for deployment across the Amtrak San Joaquins service.

The trains will be used on the Amtrak San Joaquins line, which runs five daily roundtrips between Oakland and Bakersfield, and two daily roundtrips between Sacramento and Bakersfield. The first six-car set is in operation on the Oakland-Bakersfield route, helping to “restore service to pre-pandemic levels and setting the course for future service improvements,” according to Caltrans. These new railcars are the first upgrade to the passenger riding experience on the Amtrak San Joaquins line in nearly three decades, allowing wheelchair users to move easily between cars.

Siemens Mobility, under contract to Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, built the railcars at its facility in Sacramento, with finish work performed at the Stockton Regional Maintenance Facility, owned by the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission. Caltrans purchased the new railcars with a $132 million in federal and state funds.

To highlight the significance of bringing these new railcars into service, notable public figures, including California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin, Caltrans Director Tony Tavares, Sacramento County Supervisor and Chair of SJJPA Pat Hume, attended the unveiling and spoke about the locally manufactured railcars and their contribution to California’s transportation future.

The Venture Cars stand out for their cutting-edge interior enhancements, including upgraded seating, advanced technological integrations, enhanced lighting, and refined passenger notification systems. Developed in close collaboration with the ADA community, these vehicles feature significantly improved accessibility for riders with disabilities. Furthermore, with an eye towards future advancements, these cars are engineered for high-speed performance, capable of reaching speeds up to 125 MPH—equivalent to the newly constructed Siemens Charger Locomotives. This design foresight, SJJPA says, “provides the versatility to operate within high-speed rail infrastructures, ensuring that Venture Cars remain at the forefront of modern transportation solutions.”

Notable highlights include:

• “Our most comfortable ride yet. As you take your seat, the first thing you will notice is the clean, open interiors including comfortable seating with movable armrests, tray tables for your laptop, e-reader or morning snack and workstation tables. If you choose to rest, you can recline your seat while not impeding the space of those behind you. Like our current train sets, the seating is configured in a way that allows you to sit on your own or with friends at a quad group table.
  
• “Enhanced tech features, ready to meet your connectivity needs. The Venture Cars will feature the best-in-class ‘Next Gen Wi-Fi’ system, allowing you to stay connected and productive throughout your trip. On each seat, there are built-in outlets and USB connections to power your devices.
  
• “Improved ease of access for riders with disabilities. The Venture Cars have been designed in consultation with the ADA community. Ease of access for disabled passengers boarding and departing the train, as well as moving throughout the train was front of mind in the development of the Venture Cars.
  
• “Rigorous safety standards. A key feature on the San Joaquins corridor is Positive Train Control (PTC) equipment providing for train speed monitoring and automatic braking for accident prevention.
  
• “Produced locally. The Venture Cars were manufactured locally in Sacramento, a corridor city of the Amtrak San Joaquins, by Siemens.”

In 2019, Caltrans reached an agreement with Siemens to provide 49 single-level Venture Cars for use in the California Fleet, targeted for revenue service on the Amtrak San Joaquins. Following a comprehensive design, build and review process, Caltrans and SJJPA introduced the new railcars for limited service in January 2024 as part of a 30-day failure free test period. The railcars performed as expected and will now be introduced as part of overall inventory running the San Joaquins revenue service.

The procurement and deployment of the new railcars “highlights Caltrans’ and SJJPA’s commitment to ensuring access to the safest, most accessible, and most comfortable travel experience.”

“For decades, the San Joaquins have been a backbone of our statewide rail transportation network,” said Hume. “We are committed to providing our riders with the highest quality service, equipment, and amenities. These new Venture Cars move us forward into the next era of rider experience, comfort, and reliability. We are also pleased to have sourced these cars from Siemens, who manufactured them in Sacramento, one of our corridor cities. Local manufacturing not only contributes to the character of our service, but also to the local economy.”

According to Siemens, manufacturing the Venture Cars supported jobs for 1,500 individuals working at the company’s facilities in Sacramento, approximately 450 of which worked directly on the Venture Cars.

“These trains were designed with Californians in mind, and they set a new standard for passenger travel with end-to-end accessibility. They are truly best-in-class,” said Michael Cahill, President of Rolling Stock for Siemens Mobility North America.

 “Caltrans is extremely proud to be working with these partners in creating the next generation of a multi-modal transportation network that all Californians need and deserve,” said Tavares. “We have been working diligently to provide more transportation options to Californians so they can get out of single passenger vehicles and travel comfortably and safely to their destination—these new railcars allow that.”

“We have tried to become more people-focused in all our work in transportation in California, and we get there by focusing on our core four priorities,” said Omishakin. “Those priorities are Safety—the more we get people out of cars and into rail, the more we decrease conflict points and crashes on our roads; Climate action—we know rail is cleaner with fewer emissions and brings important climate action benefits; Economic prosperity—the job creation that happens when we build these railcars and run the service is very important; and Equity—we’re investing more and more in cleaner, accessible travel, and this provides an important, affordable mobility option for Californians.”

All seven trainsets are expected to be in operation on the San Joaquins line by the end of 2025. SJJPA manages the Amtrak San Joaquins service.