Railroad Station in Wilmington, Del., Friday, Aug. 26, 2016.
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Jérôme Wallut, Senior Vice President, Alstom North-America said “Alstom’s high speed trains, which we have branded Avelia, are the most advanced reliable and safest trains in the world”.
The New York-based company Alstom will build 28 high-speed trainsets for Amtrak’s Acela Express service that takes passengers to stops between Boston and D.C. The contract’s part of the $2.45 billion loan from the Federal Railroad Administration’s that the company is investing in updating their highest-volume service. The so-called Acela Express trains will feature more spacious seats and better Wi-Fi access. That should increase passenger capacity by about 40 percent, they said. Amtrak is contracting with Alstom to produce 23 Next-Generation high-speed rails that will replace the equipment used to provide Amtrak’s premium Acela Express service. However the existing track infrastructure will only allow the trains a maximum speed of 160 m.p.h. -still that’s a lot faster than the existing maximum speed of 135 m.p.h.
Vice President Joseph Biden, a longtime Amtrak supporter, announced the loan during an August 26 media event at the Amtrak station named in his honor in Wilmington, Del.
The revamp of the Acela fleet will also be matched by upgrades to stations and the rail line, Amtrak said. Over the last decade, they have helped train service displace airplanes as the most popular mode of travel in the Northeast Corridor. With our state and commuter partners, we move people, the economy and the nation forward, carrying more than 30 million Amtrak passengers for each of the past five years.
Trains will depart every hour between New York City and Boston throughout the day.
Amtrak is partnering with Alstom in building the train sets.
The new trains, for the most part, will all be manufactured by Alstom in Hornell, New York. “Its configuration includes an innovative compact power vehicle and nine passenger cars, with the possibility of three more being added if demand grows”. Another $80 million will be used for track upgrades that will enable the new trains to travel at up to 186 miles per hour.
Exceed the ADA minimum accessibility requirements.
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Officials said about $2 billion would be spent on the new trains. Money will be put into upgrading tracks between New Carrolton and Baltimore stations, and four of the busiest stations in the Northeast Corridor -New York’s Penn Station, Washington Union Station, Baltimore Penn Station, and New Carrolton Station- will get upgrades.
