Amtrak has exercised an option with Siemens Mobility for an additional 50 ALC-42 (“Amtrak Long-Distance Charger, 4,200 HP”) diesel-electric locomotives, bringing the total contract value to $2 billion, including supplemental multiyear maintenance support. The amount also includes about $850 million in funding set aside when the initial order of 75 units was announced in 2018.
KLW (Knoxville Locomotive Works, Inc.) and Cummins Inc. on March 6 announced completion of its first KLWX 4400 ACT4, a remanufactured line-haul locomotive equipped with an EPA Tier 4-certified, 4,400-hp Cummins QSK95 prime-mover. The prototype locomotive is currently operating on CN, where it is undergoing reliability and performance testing.
The Empire Builder, Amtrak’s iconic long-distance train, traces its roots to the Great Northern Railway, which inaugurated service on June 10, 1929. The 21st century version of the train now operates with state-of-the-art diesel-electric power:
Rail transit rail equipment is among the transportation equipment subsectors most likely to benefit from a potential “Blue Wave” in January following a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris win and the Democrats flipping enough seats in the U.S. Senate in the November Presidential election to take control of that chamber.* As well, a power shift in Washington could drive a public transit service recovery in the U.S.
The Cummins QSK95 has become a major player in the passenger rail space, powering Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives with responsiveness, reliability and a low cost of operation. This 16-cylinder, high-speed diesel power plant has excelled in the harshest of operating conditions, including brutal arctic winters and scorching summer heat, while enabling the locomotive and passenger cars to achieve an operating speed greater than 125 mph. Currently there are 84 locomotives in revenue service with 762,500+ hours run and more than 13 million miles.
San Diego’s North County Transit District (NCTD) has ordered five new Tier 4-compliant Siemens Charger diesel-electric locomotives for service on Oceanside-San Diego Coaster regional/commuter trains. They will replace five older units originally built between 1975 and 1992 and purchased used by NCTD. The contract is worth more than $37 million.
The San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission (SJRRC) has awarded Siemens a contract to build four Charger diesel-electric locomotives for Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) service, with an option to purchase four additional units.
The Siemens-built, Cummins QSK-95-powered Charger diesel-electric locomotives hauling All Aboard Florida’s Brightline higher-speed express passenger trains connecting West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami along the Florida East Coast Railway main line will be fueled with blended biodiesel under a two-year contract with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL).
Siemens announced Dec. 14 that its first Brightline trainset, comprised of two locomotives and four coaches adorned in Brightline Blue, is complete and has left the company’s manufacturing hub in Sacramento, Calif.
After two years of development and testing, Indiana Rail Road (INRD) SD90-43MAC no. 1919, the first heavy-haul freight locomotive equipped with a Cummins 16-cylinder, 4,400-hp, Tier 4-compliant QSK95 high-speed diesel power plant, is operating as a “mobile laboratory,” according to INRD Senior Vice President Operations and Business Development Bob Babcock.
