Scrapping/selling the ACS-64s is one of the dumbest decisions I've ever heard, especially for the Keystone corridor. That entire line is electrified, and requires like 30 ACS-64s alone. Throw in the spares (I'd assume 10-20), and the long distance trains (15 locos). That's like 55 of the 70 that were built for amtrak still being useful on the amtrak network. They can give 15 to MARC and septa for all I care. If amtrak plans on increasing regional service on the electrified portion of the NEC, then it only makes sense to keep a bunch of ACS-64s for those additional trips. Quite frankly, they should be electrifying other portions of the Virginia corridors, not purchasing dual modes.
@@patrickmartin3322 Amtrak owns more than just the NEC; they own the Keystone Corridor, the former Michigan Central Railroad from Porter, IN to Kalamazoo, MI (and they control the line from Kalamazoo to just west of Detroit), the Keystone Corridor, and the tracks used by the Hartford Line. Regarding Virginia, I feel like they should electrify this track, but the state, which owns half of the RF&P, has stated that their agreement with CSX included not electrifying. I genuinely feel like it would be easier to try and electrify the Springfield Line, since it would allow more through service between New York/Washington and Springfield and drop the engine change for a lot of the trains that use the line. The Michigan Line I wouldn't try just because Norfolk Southern owns the tracks used to access both Chicago and Detroit.
Actually, it isn't as dumb as it sounds. Amtrak is trying to get rid of the engine change and replace the aging P40s/P42s. Instead of giving the ACS-64s a mid-life overhaul, they can invest in better locomotives that are more efficient and save time that could also increase service.
The ACS-64 fleet isn't all being paid off. Long-distance (i.e. Amfleet II, so including the Carolinian and Palmetto) trains and the Keystone Corridor will still use them; it's only the Northeast Regionals that are going to dual-mode sets.
I'm actually really happy that so much of amtraks modernization plans are getting fulfilled, the gateway project is starting(hopefully) soon. This new equipment, NEC upgrades, commuter services along the corridor are modernizing such as septa, mta, Marc, etc
@@thecurlew7403 Mate, the railways are different from cars entirely, you can still travel on your Chevrolet, but travelling on trains are more different than that! Cars are still on their alone way, hell! They even have good roads! But you're still complaining?
From what I have heard, the battery cars will actually have seats. Also the pantograph and transformer for the ALC42E will be in the adjacent car of the trainset. Meaning these locomotives can only operate as electric when coupled to their dedicated trains.
I believe it will be a similar concept to that of the euro star, where the pantagraph is situated on the cars mid train. Not sure why they wont/cant put the pantagraph on the loco itself but whatever
@FPK I doubt it would be costly, the ACS-64 is based on the Siemens Vectron, which runs push-pull operations with Venture coaches (well, Railjet coaches) with the Austrian and Chech railways.
@@No-le9qf But if you look at the numbers though, they are making 8 trainsets, which is the same amount of trainsets as the 8 locomotives in service with the cascades, which can only mean it's likely the Series 8s are gonna get phased out.
@@docsrailroad But Amtrak is proposing a total of 13 round trips on the Cascades as part of their corridor improvement project, so they will need a couple Series 8s to keep that schedule without a set shortage, and that's not mentioning, maybe 1 more in the case of a crash.
@@railfantrainsofsandiegopro1557 I'm actually glad Amtrak's replacing the horizon cars on our cascades route. They look ugly. The venture cars look much better. I'm really interested with the SC44 cab cars. I'm pretty sure they'll look good
I'm surprised too. Why would they do that? They're only 7 years old if not less or more. I hope they keep at least most ACSs for backups. I hope not all retire. Because don't get me wrong. I love the acs64s.
Maybe they want to unify all their equipment. I Dont know if it can work on a railway but airlines use that method to have More cost saving and better training on their crews
Northeast Regionals that travel between Boston and DC will still use the ACS-64s. With the upgrades coming to the NEC, more equipment, and service expansions in Virginia Amtrak will run a lot more trains off the corridor so that’s where the dual mode Chargers will be used.
Omg i was crying because I love the ACS-64 as an european( I knew that all of them were gonna be replaced like 2-3 months ago but know I hear this I am happy, will they gonna be repaint into phase 7?
Are the ACS-64s still gonna be used on the keystone since I live in Lancaster I see Pennsylvanians and keystones but on the Pennsylvanian it will have a normal ALC-42 between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
Amtrak has long been the redheaded stepchild of the transportation industry. It's nice to see they've finally gotten some real funding. They've been in quite the hole...
@@oly.mp4 - No, I’m not trolling. The Amtrak system is a money pit. The infrastructure is antiquated, the service is sparse (except up the NE corridor), and it is SLOW. There is absolutely no reason for me to take an Amtrak from D.C. to Chicago, for instance, because it’s cheaper, faster, and easier by plane. The only place in the US that Amtrak can compete with air is the NE corridor. The US has a well-established network of airline service, so it’s only reasonable to spend the money on rail expansion when the population centers are close enough to make rail a valid alternative.
@@sking2173 You have cars! Use them! If you don't like Amtrak, just suggest, just don't quickly ask them to shut down, or something, give suggestions to them to be better.
@@sking2173 That's the thing with investments, especially for rail, it's expensive but if you want them to be fast and competitive, you have to give them investments. From what I've heard, it's been nothing but a cycle of abuse for Amtrak and any rail service They want to expand services and ask for improvements on existing tracks including double tracking and replacing very old lines to improve services, people call them a money pit and refuse to give it, then their services stagnate and people say it's a useless service and don't want to use it, losing potential revenue, making them ask to improve and so they're called a money pit Not helping is the fact that freight companies refuse to reinstall tracks they removed unless they're paid billions for it, slowing down service when the passenger trains have to stop for the giant freight trains that can take hours out of a trip And there are plenty of population centers for rail service to run on, take any towns or cities that are within a distance of 10 - 350 miles or so of each other, those are areas rail can cover for cars that are too much a journey to drive and planes are too much of a hassle to justify using given security checks
I'll be interested to see how these hybrid battery powered units work out over time given the cost of battery pack component failure, etc. i also hope they have a good fire suppression system on board. battery cell fires can be pretty violent. Anybody have any details on the exact chemistry of cells they're going to use? I'm sure they'll take the necessary precautions. I just want to geek out on the details.
AMTRAK crews operate MARC trains, and Ivy City is a shared facility (between AMTRAK, MARC, and VRE). The only portion of MARC's tracks that are electrified is the Penn Line (which overlays the NEC) - the rest of MARC is diesel-only (hence ALC-42). SEPTA, however, is a candidate (as they have far more electrified trackage than MARC) ; even NJ Transit is a candidate (for the same reason SEPTA is). Other commuter lines are candidates. The HHP-8s (in MARC service) held on as long as they did because they could only run on the Penn Line; thus they were babied by comparison to NEC service with AMTRAK (where they came from in some - if not most - cases). An interesting comparison would be ACS-64s in MARC, SEPTA, and even NJ Transit service - as all three have this trainset - you can even bring MBTA, Metro North, and LIRR into the comparison, as they have ACS-64s of their own. (I have the ugly suspiscion that some of you are thinking of either "nostalgia" or - worse - making the same mistake that both freight railroads and AMTRAK itself have gotten whacked for - trying to stretch the infrastructure too far - isn't that where American rail infrastructure - both passenger AND freight - come up short compared to most of Europe and Japan? Railroad infrastructure is the rails themselves AND the rolling stock - stretching either - or both - too far gets folks killed.
Battery-powered buses have become very common in Europe, and we are starting to see several battery powered EMU's on the market, by very respectable companies. As far as I know, battery pack component failure is not really an issue these buses and trains struggle with. Depending on the unit, the main challenge is how to integrate charging into the schedule. Battery fires are a hell indeed, but the same can be said for large fuel tanks of diesel.
The batteries will be the standard Lithium-Ion batteries found on Teslas and other Battery-Electric Vehicles. Fortunately, Li-On batteries *when constructed properly* (looks at LG Chem and Chevy) are very stable and won't catch fire easily in the event of an accident. Heck, the diesel-powered locomotive is more likely to catch fire in a wreck than the batteries. In fact, Siemens will be taking a cue from Tesla and using the battery pack as a structurally integral part of the car, making that car the most survivable place on the train outside of the locomotive.
Very informative! I'm surprised to see that an entire B unit is needed for battery power instead of replacing the existing diesel engine. Thank you for providing an accurate timeline of when these cars will enter service.
Very informative video. The paint scheme you made for the Venture cars looks great. Blends in seamlessly with the new Phase 7 livery of the Chargers. Hopefully Amtrak goes with something like that. Looks like the Pennsylvanian, Palmetto, and Carolinian (if they ever bring the baggage car back) will see the biggest change in their consists as the Pennsylvanian and Palmetto both use Amfleet 2s for coaches in addition to having a baggage car. I assume there will also be cafe and business class configured cars for these train sets.
I actually like how the acs-64’s are probably being sold to regional commuter services. More reliability and also incentivizes more authorities to electrify rail lines.
I kind of suspect that that was the intention all along. They're basically handing local railways like-new hand me downs to help them along. Like an older brother gives his old gear to his younger brother. Probably the product of some shady funding deal in Congress, but I still like it!
7:08 I think the battery trailer cars should be referred as tenders like those of steam locomotive since they store electricity like how a steam locomotive tender stored coal/oil/wood and water. Or I guess tender isn't a very appealing word years after the Steam locomotives we're retired. Still, I hope the ACS-64s will find good new homes, and I have no doubt that the Amfleet 2s and Superliners will be next on the chopping block, especially the Superliners because I have a feeling Amtrak wants to find a replacement for the Superliners after that recent accident in Montana. Update: Amtrak has officially confirmed that the ACS-64s are being replaced as the ALC-42E locomotives are going to get rid of the switch from diesel to electricity & vice versa at D.C. and possibly Harrisburg too, they also stated that they're accelerating replacement of their long distance fleet such as the Superliners, the Amfleets, and the Viewliner 1 cars in their 5 year plan. They hope to replace the older equipment by 2032 with the IIJA money and issue contracts in the coming years, possibly between 2022 and 2027.
Amtrak identified a need to replace Superliners as far back as 2017. Would be interesting to see who will build them. Alstom (having acquired Bombardier) looks like the most obvious choice, but Siemens could step in for this too - Viaggio Twin double decks are a thing in Europe after all. I'd be surprised if Stadler gets the chance (if they can build custom supertall multidecks for the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada, they can surely do a more standard design, even if not an EMU).
The ALC-42E with 308 Mated to the battery car will carry passengers with 7 venture cars and an Venture car with a ALC-42 Style CabCar. I love the design, by the way, Sam Dwyer.
I’ve seen the video of them being built!!! I’ve seen the SC-44 on the Pacific Surfliner in California which is the state I live in. But one day I’ll see the ALC 42 charger on one of the long distance trains.
I really wonder why they're getting rid of the ACS-64. No reason to get rid of them on routes which are only electric, but they do make sense on hybrid routes.
Yeah, it really makes no sense to my why they'd want to have a locomotive with diesel power to use on a fully electrified route... I guess so everything is the same and interchangeable...
@@notsonicefenu That is a good point. I guess it is so if they have a train running down from boston to dc, they can turn it right around to be sent out to chicago no problemo. One thing that sucks is that the ACS64s are so young, but I do guess the last of em will be sold by the time they're something like 14?
@@piemadd Yeah, that's my best guess, it'd also simplify maintenance, but at the same time it'd mean they'd be more complicated for no huge reason, and if they find an issue that is universal to their entire fleet, it'd be much worse than otherwise... Another thing that I didn't think about though, is if they potentially were to electrify more of their track up in the Northeast they wouldn't have to worry about new locomotives... just speculation though
By the time those locos are delivered the ACS-64s will need a mid-life overhaul. Amtrak doesn't want to spend money on overhauling inefficient locomotives that waste time.
I can't wait to see the new trains on the Cascade route I got the chance to Ride part of the Cascades route in the mid-90s. It was a beautiful snowy full moon night traveling through the mountains
I think they should keep the ACS64s for trains specifically running an ell electric route and those running both get dual power locomotives. Like the Pennsylvanian and NEC trains going outside the electrified areas.
Most excellent work: 1. Why doesn't AMTK ask Siemens for a uniform ALC-42 style cab for ALL equipment now on. The SC44 style cab looks chopped, cheap and dated... VIA Rail and Brightline's have good anesthetics as well... 2. Speaking of aesthetics and not only design. Looking into the future: Amtrak in terms of single level equipment: no longer have no Bombardier Horizons, Budd Amfleets and very probably some minimum heritage equipment left. So hopefully Amtrak will consider contracting Viewliner 2 Cafe lounges and coaches for long distance trains for fleet uniformity and efficient fleet maintenance practices for trains such as the Lake Shore Limited, Crescent, Cardinal and Silver Service trains. Did I left one single level long distance train out? 3. Maybe the SC-44 replacement ALC42E's can also have third rail as more flexibility? 4. Amtrak should consider giving better tariffs so MBTA and MARC would be prospects to buy the ALC-42's... 5. What will happen to the relatively new Talgo 8's currently in service on the Cascades and the Wisconsin Talgos that never saw service? I smell a rat. 6. Will Bombardier Horizons be retired before the Amfleet 1's? I see a surplus of Amfleet 1's once some Venture cars enter service. 7. What's the deal of lead with the plumbing on water lines on the IDOT amtrak Midwest venture cars? When will that get fixed? 8. It's pretty nice to see Amtrak achieving an upgraded and uniform fleet in terms of parts and maintenance, they should become more efficient. Something they haven't have the opportunity to achieve due to multiple manufacturers. 9. I'd like to see Alstom build Superliner 3's and Viewliner 2 coaches and café lounges. Just so Siemens doesn't become a monopoly for Amtrak.
Please use the older equipment and refresh if needed in rural areas to Capital seats in small states. We need mass transit also. I was born in 1957 boarded one of the last passenger train service in Arkansas to Little Rock,Arkansas in 1961 or 1962. I have never forgotten it . Thank You and God Bless.
I hope they add strobe lights on top of the engine just in case the ditch lights fail or when traveling in harsh weather conditions like fog, rain or snow
It is very sad that they are literally already planning to replace the ACS-64s when they were literally only around for like 7 years, it’s scary and makes no sense. Please Amtrak at least keep some!
VIA RAIL will have these same Venture trainsets the cab car is going to be used on all 32 trains Via ordered, I filmed the Completed Via train in Montreal, so Amtrak will use similar equipment.
These 83 trainsets were ordered by a video game called RO Scale Central Railroad. The game ordered 130 more trainsets. Which is a total of 213 trainsets. And PR43C engines # 4000-4011, 4300, & 130-141. And Amtrak ALC-42s # 300, 302-308, 301, 309-312, 313-374, & 375-474.
Is there any chance for you to make these episodes for MTA (Metro North, LIRR, and NYC Subway)? That would be so cool, and they’re always making something new for the future.
Just read the updates and corrections in the description. Looks like ALC-42Es will remain primarily diesel-electric, instead relying on the first Venture car behind the locomotive to provide the electric power (except for third rail), whether pantograph or battery. This seems more consistent lol. Happy to hear that Keystone is no longer the exception with shorter trains.
This sounds like the most Amtrak thing ever to replace straight electric ACS-64 locos with these ALC-42E dual modes. I get that they'd benefit from no longer swapping engines at, say, Washington Union Station, but it seems like a waste on services along the entirely electrified NEC.
I wonder if the Vermonter and Ethan Allen will still have the Cafe car when these new sets come in. While I like the new equipment. It will be sad to see the P42s and silver Amfleets go here in vermont
At 4:47 in the video The purple double-decker car next to the German Siemens ACS-64 locomotive is a vehicle manufactured in South Korea (Hyundai Rotem).
By the time these trains will be delivered the ACS64 are around 20 years old. MARC and SEPTA will probably take a bunch of them and maybe even Caltrain
The Talgos used on the Cascades today are not "aging". There are only 2 Talgo Series 8 sets in use today that were built in 2013, so not even 10 years old yet. All of the older Talgo Series 6 sets were all retired and mostly scrapped. The reason for this is that after the 501 derailment in 2017, the NTSB investigation labeled the Talgo 6 not meeting American crash-worthiness standards. That's a highly debatable topic, but it ultimately ended the Talgo era for the Cascades. I'm somewhat sad about this since the Talgo equipment was rated to operate at up to 7" of cant deficiency (which determines the maximum speed in curves) while the Siemens Venture coaches can do a max of 6". Mind you, today no equipment goes beyond 5" due to safety considerations, but at least there was a possibility with the Talgo coaches and a suitable power car.
are you talking about america or what? because here in europe we have tilting trains that can tilt up to 8* and the avelia liberty can also do up to 8*
@@StefanWithTrains yes, when I said "Cascades" I meant the "Amtrak Cascades" corridor for which there are still 2x Talgo 8 trainsets in the fleet (but may be replaced by Siemens Charger+Venture consists entirely in the future, unclear).
Will the Cascade trainsets be tilting cars? The Cascades run significantly faster on that curving line than conventional passenger cars because of the Talgo design.
NJ Transit may order the ALC-42E to replace most of the GP40PH-2s (excluding the GP40PH-2Bs on the Atlantic City Line) and the remaining PL42AC diesel locomotives that are not going to be replaced by the ALP-45As.
When I heard 'modernizing' and 'future' I thought, 'oh cool, so more tracks are gonna be electrify right?' and I forget it's america. They're somehow allergic to electrifying while the rest of the world is moving forward.
The reason why freight railroads don't electrify is that its a great risk and its a complete waste of money. Private freight railroads pay less using diesel compared to wasting money on electrification. The U.S. is also pretty big. Electrifying that big of a system is basically digging a hole for yourself.
@@danielchou5895 Just sounds like a a sizable piece of deflection, especially considering how they're testing battery powered locomotives, and a good portion of the rail system was electrified in the 30s
Big news! Excited to see these start to roll out these next few yeas. A little curious as to why the Empire Service and other upstate routes are the only ones without Venture cab cars?
The ACS 64s is one of the newest electric locomotive right now. honestly Amtrak should keep the ACS 64s or Amtrak could sell them to Maryland rail commuter or septa or New Jersey transit or Caltrain or go transit or other passenger commuter service
Nothing about the Superliners? Amtrak is already getting rid of equipment which is newer than those are, but there seems to be no plan in sight for their replacement
The superliners are almost always on money-losing routes, along with the fact that they're in the process of refurbishing/refreshing them. My best guess is that sometime later this decade, a plan to either replace them with single level cars or create some sort of Superliner IIIs will come out, assuming that Amtrak's funding or revenue increases.
Replacing the acs-64s is a stupid waste of money, but it will at least give commuter rails such as MARC, MBTA, LIRR, and NJ Transit, a chance to buy them
You guys were like amtrak wouldn't get high speed rail then suddenly amtrak is spam buying bunch of new train cars,locomotives,etc... also I like to have amtrak to do partner ships with the other highspeed rail companies also the acs64 should also use the newest Siemens cars,the acs 64 should run on the regional from Boston to DC and the alc-42e should run on the regional Boston to places in Virginia, also amtrak should set up electrified corridors in the midwest and southeast and connect it to the northeast
...so here in the Northwest we will be saying farewell to the Talgo train sets. Going to miss them. I live the bistro car. Other than that, no change in the Midwest to replace the Heritage and Amfleet carriages there and no plan to replace the ageing Superliner stock used on long distance trains in the west. Was really hoping see a derivative of the Viewliner single level carriages that would eliminate the stairs have a better centre of gravity (being lighter as well) and give passengers a sense of interior spaciousness. Also really love to see Amtrak come up with a solution to the ridiculous cost of accommodations on long overnight and multi day trips. 600$ a night (the average for a standard roomette on routes like the Empire Builder and other long distance western trains) is ludicrous. First class Air costs less. One idea would be to go back to the old "slumber coach" concept where seats folded into upper/lower berths, which would work well based on the Viewliner concept. It would mean slightly longer trains but with a reduction in weight per carriage which would compensate.
i still love they care about adding new lines and cars and focusing on the north lines and Amtrak still threatens to take away long-distance trains like the southwest chief. BNSF is up for redevelopment and open to adding electric but Amtrak doesn't want to pay
Electric in the west is useless. They have to engine change and installing and maintenance costs more than new locomotives and cars. Adding on, barely anyone takes those services so it would be practically useless. It's a supply and demand system.
I absolutely love these, especially the NER ones, but 2 questions. What is the "shuttle" and will there be cafe cars on the ALC42E trainsets for the NER?
This order while large seems to be short on seats? That's currently the problem on the NEC. Amtrak can't run more trains because of staffing and equipment shortages. I don't this order address that. I'm curious of they will slap on one or two more cars to make it 11 car sets instead of the current 9 car sets. NEC Current: 1 ACS64 + 7-12 Amfleets New order: 1 ALC42E + 7 venture cars + 1 cab venture (9 car set) Possible add-on: 1 ALC42E + 9 venture cars + 1 cab venture (11 car set) New Acela: 2 power cars + 9 passenger cars (11 car set)
they are going to replace the ACS 64 on all routes except for long distance routes that have to switch to electric power even though those trains would benefit the most from dual mode locomotive? maybe there was a mistake in communication.
It might be correct. The long-distance services need a special variant with a larger fuel tank, so the dual-modes they ordered might not be suitable for the long-distance runs. That said, it does seem stupid to order dual-mode locomotives to replace ACS-64s on all-electric routes like the Keystone Corridor and Northeast Corridor, rather than ordering special long-distance dual-mode locomotives.
Wie wäre es den, wenn Amtrak sich für Hybride Lokomotiven für die letzte Meile entscheiden würden, die quasi mit Strom aus dem Fahrdraht beziehen und zugleich einen Dieselelektrischen Generator haben. Das spart jede Menge Rangierarbeiten zwischen den Systemen Diesel- und Nichtdieselstrecken. Ja solche Hybride Lokomotiven sind in Deutschland und in Europa schwer im Vormarsch, weil sie im Transportwesen auf der Schiene im Vorteil und sehr wirtschaftlich, insbesondere auf der letzten Meile. How about if Amtrak opted for hybrid locomotives for the last mile, which draw electricity from the contact wire and at the same time have a diesel-electric generator. This saves a lot of maneuvering work between the systems of diesel and non-diesel routes. Such hybrid locomotives are gaining ground in Germany and Europe because they have an advantage in rail transport and are very economical, especially on the last mile.
They better not scrap all the Amfleets. Some should be in museums, and I would love to see others continue to run in other roads' paint schemes. I'm sure some of the other lines that run the NEC would have some use for them, at the very least.
6:05 did I hear that correctly? 7 seven coaches plus a cab car for the valley flyer? That surely can’t be right as the valley flyer only serves greenfield, ma to new haven, ct and is currently operated with only one coach and one cab car. In addition to that it wouldn’t make sense for them to run the ALC-42E as there is no electrification on that route until the final stop in new haven.
What is the future of long distance sleeper cars? The superliners are getting old and the view liners could continue to run on some routes with low clearances.
Why are ACS-64 locomotives being replaced? I understand the decision when it comes to trains that operate only part of their route under wires such as the Crescent or Pennsylvanian, but what about trains such as the Northeast Regional (the ones that don't go into Virginia) or the Keystone service? Why not keep the ACS-64 for those? I have a feeling that a descent amount of ACS-64s will be kept despite that not being the plan.
Great video The ALC-42E’s are clearly tasked to eliminate the change of equipment at Washington. Long distance trains such as the silver star can save as much as a half hour by running dual mode equipment from NY Penn all the way to Miami and back.
While they look good, there is one problem, how the phase 2 plan is to have Siemens venture cars and not cafe cars, also, how the alc42e will work at the routes that are not electrified? The answer, the entire southeastern and the north are unelectrified, and diesels can power the service's
Why the hell would they replace the ACS-64s on the fully electrified routes with dual mode ALC-42Es!?! That’s just stupid and they’re not even 10 years old yet!!!
I've watched a couple of your videos addressing the equipment upgrades for Amtrak. There's been no mention of the Auto Train route which is there most profitable route. Do they plan to upgrade those passenger cars? I know that the auto racks probably won't be upgraded but the passenger cars are aging.
The fact that the acs-64s are gonna get partially replaced is an odd choice. Hopefully companies like MARC and MBTA buy some of them.
or maybe Norfolk southern or csx
If that's even possible
Metro North could get them for Penn Access
Or NJT
@@tom-and-mom when will they be in service
@@tom-and-mom ok that’s good but the alc-42 cab car just looks 🤢but❤️ at the same tome
Scrapping/selling the ACS-64s is one of the dumbest decisions I've ever heard, especially for the Keystone corridor. That entire line is electrified, and requires like 30 ACS-64s alone. Throw in the spares (I'd assume 10-20), and the long distance trains (15 locos). That's like 55 of the 70 that were built for amtrak still being useful on the amtrak network. They can give 15 to MARC and septa for all I care.
If amtrak plans on increasing regional service on the electrified portion of the NEC, then it only makes sense to keep a bunch of ACS-64s for those additional trips.
Quite frankly, they should be electrifying other portions of the Virginia corridors, not purchasing dual modes.
Yeah they should but the NEC is the only track they actually own
@@patrickmartin3322 Amtrak owns more than just the NEC; they own the Keystone Corridor, the former Michigan Central Railroad from Porter, IN to Kalamazoo, MI (and they control the line from Kalamazoo to just west of Detroit), the Keystone Corridor, and the tracks used by the Hartford Line.
Regarding Virginia, I feel like they should electrify this track, but the state, which owns half of the RF&P, has stated that their agreement with CSX included not electrifying. I genuinely feel like it would be easier to try and electrify the Springfield Line, since it would allow more through service between New York/Washington and Springfield and drop the engine change for a lot of the trains that use the line. The Michigan Line I wouldn't try just because Norfolk Southern owns the tracks used to access both Chicago and Detroit.
Actually, it isn't as dumb as it sounds. Amtrak is trying to get rid of the engine change and replace the aging P40s/P42s. Instead of giving the ACS-64s a mid-life overhaul, they can invest in better locomotives that are more efficient and save time that could also increase service.
The ACS-64 fleet isn't all being paid off. Long-distance (i.e. Amfleet II, so including the Carolinian and Palmetto) trains and the Keystone Corridor will still use them; it's only the Northeast Regionals that are going to dual-mode sets.
@@GintaPPE1000 i think your talking about the Amfleets rn, the ACS cant be used on the long distance routes
I'm actually really happy that so much of amtraks modernization plans are getting fulfilled, the gateway project is starting(hopefully) soon. This new equipment, NEC upgrades, commuter services along the corridor are modernizing such as septa, mta, Marc, etc
Glad you do because the reason why they are investing in railways is to do away with cars they dont want you travelling to far so they control you .
@@thecurlew7403 Wtf? No.
@@oly.mp4 Yep they investing in EU and UK battery cars replace the diesel and petrol total control .
@@thecurlew7403 Mate, the railways are different from cars entirely, you can still travel on your Chevrolet, but travelling on trains are more different than that! Cars are still on their alone way, hell! They even have good roads! But you're still complaining?
@@oly.mp4 Research Agenda 21 .
From what I have heard, the battery cars will actually have seats. Also the pantograph and transformer for the ALC42E will be in the adjacent car of the trainset. Meaning these locomotives can only operate as electric when coupled to their dedicated trains.
I believe it will be a similar concept to that of the euro star, where the pantagraph is situated on the cars mid train. Not sure why they wont/cant put the pantagraph on the loco itself but whatever
Soon we will see ACS 64’s pulling venture cars
@@arkitect156 on the eurostar e300's/ Class 373 the pantograph's are on the powercars
How can you possibly be ok with the choices Amtrak is making?!
They could still use ACS-64s on the Keystone since the trains travel under wire only.
@FPK
I doubt it would be costly, the ACS-64 is based on the Siemens Vectron, which runs push-pull operations with Venture coaches (well, Railjet coaches) with the Austrian and Chech railways.
@@mikeblatzheim2797 the ACS 64 could stay and run on the Silver service
Same with the northeast corridor
@@tom-and-mom What does that have to do with any of this???
@@tom-and-mom what?
Wow, this is big news! Seeing the northwest get enough ventures to replace the Talgo 8s is really a surprise to me.
I don’t think the Talgo 8s are getting replaced yet since they are barely 10 years old
@@No-le9qf I don't know if that's the case of the talgo series 8 sets being replaced immediately. But I hope it's not
Rip The Amfleets
@@No-le9qf But if you look at the numbers though, they are making 8 trainsets, which is the same amount of trainsets as the 8 locomotives in service with the cascades, which can only mean it's likely the Series 8s are gonna get phased out.
@@docsrailroad But Amtrak is proposing a total of 13 round trips on the Cascades as part of their corridor improvement project, so they will need a couple Series 8s to keep that schedule without a set shortage, and that's not mentioning, maybe 1 more in the case of a crash.
Interesting to see a few more details on the replacements for the 700-series P32s, on the Empire Service.
3:45 the venture cars will look great in this scheme! I can't wait to see them in the future!
So do the Avelia inspired sets.
The paint scene looks pretty nice on the train sets
@@railfantrainsofsandiegopro1557 I'm actually glad Amtrak's replacing the horizon cars on our cascades route. They look ugly. The venture cars look much better. I'm really interested with the SC44 cab cars. I'm pretty sure they'll look good
@@tom-and-mom amfleets included. amfleets are also hideous. Their shape is too tubed. The venture cars look better
I’m surprised that they plan on already replacing the ACS64
I'm surprised too. Why would they do that? They're only 7 years old if not less or more. I hope they keep at least most ACSs for backups. I hope not all retire. Because don't get me wrong. I love the acs64s.
Maybe they want to unify all their equipment. I Dont know if it can work on a railway but airlines use that method to have More cost saving and better training on their crews
I think not because if the ALC-42E were to be unreliable or under overhaul you need extra equipment to supplement the decreased fleet.
The ACS64s are only 7 years old. They could be used for a couple more years before being replaced
apparently they have money to burn, and decided to spend it all on the NEC. Thats the only part of the United States that exists right?
Full on hybrid is an interesting strategy. Maybe Amtrak is hoping for partial electrification of trunk routes in the future? Its definitely needed.
Northeast Regionals that travel between Boston and DC will still use the ACS-64s. With the upgrades coming to the NEC, more equipment, and service expansions in Virginia Amtrak will run a lot more trains off the corridor so that’s where the dual mode Chargers will be used.
Omg i was crying because I love the ACS-64 as an european( I knew that all of them were gonna be replaced like 2-3 months ago but know I hear this I am happy, will they gonna be repaint into phase 7?
@@StefanWithTrains Let’s finger cross to see if we hope it will be true. Ok. 🤞
I think it makes sense to keep the ACS-64 on the electric only services and the ALC-42E on the routes that go outside of the NEC
Are the ACS-64s still gonna be used on the keystone since I live in Lancaster I see Pennsylvanians and keystones but on the Pennsylvanian it will have a normal ALC-42 between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
Amtrak has long been the redheaded stepchild of the transportation industry. It's nice to see they've finally gotten some real funding. They've been in quite the hole...
They should shut Amtrak down except the NE corridor service ...
@@sking2173 By now, you're trolling.
@@oly.mp4 - No, I’m not trolling. The Amtrak system is a money pit. The infrastructure is antiquated, the service is sparse (except up the NE corridor), and it is SLOW.
There is absolutely no reason for me to take an Amtrak from D.C. to Chicago, for instance, because it’s cheaper, faster, and easier by plane. The only place in the US that Amtrak can compete with air is the NE corridor.
The US has a well-established network of airline service, so it’s only reasonable to spend the money on rail expansion when the population centers are close enough to make rail a valid alternative.
@@sking2173 You have cars! Use them! If you don't like Amtrak, just suggest, just don't quickly ask them to shut down, or something, give suggestions to them to be better.
@@sking2173 That's the thing with investments, especially for rail, it's expensive but if you want them to be fast and competitive, you have to give them investments. From what I've heard, it's been nothing but a cycle of abuse for Amtrak and any rail service
They want to expand services and ask for improvements on existing tracks including double tracking and replacing very old lines to improve services, people call them a money pit and refuse to give it, then their services stagnate and people say it's a useless service and don't want to use it, losing potential revenue, making them ask to improve and so they're called a money pit
Not helping is the fact that freight companies refuse to reinstall tracks they removed unless they're paid billions for it, slowing down service when the passenger trains have to stop for the giant freight trains that can take hours out of a trip
And there are plenty of population centers for rail service to run on, take any towns or cities that are within a distance of 10 - 350 miles or so of each other, those are areas rail can cover for cars that are too much a journey to drive and planes are too much of a hassle to justify using given security checks
This is honestly kind of scary, seeing how Amtrak’s old equipment is getting closer to retirement
It's EXCITING! FINALLY jumping into the 21st century. Now all they need to do is bring the railways into the same period.
It was badly needed even though I am not a monster fan of the infrustucure bill that bill will help out amtrack
@@benpezzot8805 of what in the "infrastucure" bill are you not a fan?
@@TheRailwayDrone it has nothing to do with amtrak it is something else
@@benpezzot8805 Well?
I am watching this 14 days later (11/25/2021), and I found all this to be interesting news! Thanks for the exclusive news! Subscribed!
I'll be interested to see how these hybrid battery powered units work out over time given the cost of battery pack component failure, etc. i also hope they have a good fire suppression system on board. battery cell fires can be pretty violent. Anybody have any details on the exact chemistry of cells they're going to use? I'm sure they'll take the necessary precautions. I just want to geek out on the details.
AMTRAK crews operate MARC trains, and Ivy City is a shared facility (between AMTRAK, MARC, and VRE). The only portion of MARC's tracks that are electrified is the Penn Line (which overlays the NEC) - the rest of MARC is diesel-only (hence ALC-42). SEPTA, however, is a candidate (as they have far more electrified trackage than MARC) ; even NJ Transit is a candidate (for the same reason SEPTA is). Other commuter lines are candidates. The HHP-8s (in MARC service) held on as long as they did because they could only run on the Penn Line; thus they were babied by comparison to NEC service with AMTRAK (where they came from in some - if not most - cases). An interesting comparison would be ACS-64s in MARC, SEPTA, and even NJ Transit service - as all three have this trainset - you can even bring MBTA, Metro North, and LIRR into the comparison, as they have ACS-64s of their own. (I have the ugly suspiscion that some of you are thinking of either "nostalgia" or - worse - making the same mistake that both freight railroads and AMTRAK itself have gotten whacked for - trying to stretch the infrastructure too far - isn't that where American rail infrastructure - both passenger AND freight - come up short compared to most of Europe and Japan? Railroad infrastructure is the rails themselves AND the rolling stock - stretching either - or both - too far gets folks killed.
Battery-powered buses have become very common in Europe, and we are starting to see several battery powered EMU's on the market, by very respectable companies. As far as I know, battery pack component failure is not really an issue these buses and trains struggle with. Depending on the unit, the main challenge is how to integrate charging into the schedule. Battery fires are a hell indeed, but the same can be said for large fuel tanks of diesel.
The batteries will be the standard Lithium-Ion batteries found on Teslas and other Battery-Electric Vehicles. Fortunately, Li-On batteries *when constructed properly* (looks at LG Chem and Chevy) are very stable and won't catch fire easily in the event of an accident. Heck, the diesel-powered locomotive is more likely to catch fire in a wreck than the batteries. In fact, Siemens will be taking a cue from Tesla and using the battery pack as a structurally integral part of the car, making that car the most survivable place on the train outside of the locomotive.
These battery cars are such a cool idea! It’s kinda like a Tender for modern locomotives!
Haha! 😂 That reminds me of steam locomotives
How are you ok with this?!
@amtrak1214 why does that question even matter??!?!?
Very informative! I'm surprised to see that an entire B unit is needed for battery power instead of replacing the existing diesel engine. Thank you for providing an accurate timeline of when these cars will enter service.
Seems like going back to the old days when early diesels had b units
Even though this hasn’t been approved as this “video release” your dogged determination has been rewarded keep it up 👍
What will happen to the cabbages? I would be devastated to hear that’s there being scrapped
Great series topic given the current news about the infrasturcture funding bill finally passing. Keep it up, Sam!
Very informative video. The paint scheme you made for the Venture cars looks great. Blends in seamlessly with the new Phase 7 livery of the Chargers. Hopefully Amtrak goes with something like that. Looks like the Pennsylvanian, Palmetto, and Carolinian (if they ever bring the baggage car back) will see the biggest change in their consists as the Pennsylvanian and Palmetto both use Amfleet 2s for coaches in addition to having a baggage car. I assume there will also be cafe and business class configured cars for these train sets.
I rather see HSR replace these lines and run 30 min 150mph service
I actually like how the acs-64’s are probably being sold to regional commuter services. More reliability and also incentivizes more authorities to electrify rail lines.
I kind of suspect that that was the intention all along. They're basically handing local railways like-new hand me downs to help them along. Like an older brother gives his old gear to his younger brother. Probably the product of some shady funding deal in Congress, but I still like it!
7:08 I think the battery trailer cars should be referred as tenders like those of steam locomotive since they store electricity like how a steam locomotive tender stored coal/oil/wood and water. Or I guess tender isn't a very appealing word years after the Steam locomotives we're retired. Still, I hope the ACS-64s will find good new homes, and I have no doubt that the Amfleet 2s and Superliners will be next on the chopping block, especially the Superliners because I have a feeling Amtrak wants to find a replacement for the Superliners after that recent accident in Montana.
Update: Amtrak has officially confirmed that the ACS-64s are being replaced as the ALC-42E locomotives are going to get rid of the switch from diesel to electricity & vice versa at D.C. and possibly Harrisburg too, they also stated that they're accelerating replacement of their long distance fleet such as the Superliners, the Amfleets, and the Viewliner 1 cars in their 5 year plan. They hope to replace the older equipment by 2032 with the IIJA money and issue contracts in the coming years, possibly between 2022 and 2027.
Amtrak identified a need to replace Superliners as far back as 2017. Would be interesting to see who will build them. Alstom (having acquired Bombardier) looks like the most obvious choice, but Siemens could step in for this too - Viaggio Twin double decks are a thing in Europe after all. I'd be surprised if Stadler gets the chance (if they can build custom supertall multidecks for the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada, they can surely do a more standard design, even if not an EMU).
The ALC-42E with 308 Mated to the battery car will carry passengers with 7 venture cars and an Venture car with a ALC-42 Style CabCar. I love the design, by the way, Sam Dwyer.
Will the Alc42s go on long distance services?
I'm excited to soon see the ALC 42's on my local Amtrak train the city of new Orleans
I’ve seen the video of them being built!!! I’ve seen the SC-44 on the Pacific Surfliner in California which is the state I live in. But one day I’ll see the ALC 42 charger on one of the long distance trains.
I really wonder why they're getting rid of the ACS-64. No reason to get rid of them on routes which are only electric, but they do make sense on hybrid routes.
Yeah, it really makes no sense to my why they'd want to have a locomotive with diesel power to use on a fully electrified route... I guess so everything is the same and interchangeable...
@@notsonicefenu That is a good point. I guess it is so if they have a train running down from boston to dc, they can turn it right around to be sent out to chicago no problemo. One thing that sucks is that the ACS64s are so young, but I do guess the last of em will be sold by the time they're something like 14?
@@piemadd Yeah, that's my best guess, it'd also simplify maintenance, but at the same time it'd mean they'd be more complicated for no huge reason, and if they find an issue that is universal to their entire fleet, it'd be much worse than otherwise...
Another thing that I didn't think about though, is if they potentially were to electrify more of their track up in the Northeast they wouldn't have to worry about new locomotives... just speculation though
@@piemadd I’m sure when the ACS-64’s be fully retired they will be around 20 years old
By the time those locos are delivered the ACS-64s will need a mid-life overhaul. Amtrak doesn't want to spend money on overhauling inefficient locomotives that waste time.
I can't wait to see the new trains on the Cascade route
I got the chance to Ride part of the Cascades route in the mid-90s. It was a beautiful snowy full moon night traveling through the mountains
I think they should keep the ACS64s for trains specifically running an ell electric route and those running both get dual power locomotives. Like the Pennsylvanian and NEC trains going outside the electrified areas.
They should make a B unit for the SC-44s which gives the 3 leading locomotives a continuous look
There is a reason why B units don't exist anymore....
More than anything I love the transparency from Amtrak!
Most excellent work:
1. Why doesn't AMTK ask Siemens for a uniform ALC-42 style cab for ALL equipment now on. The SC44 style cab looks chopped, cheap and dated... VIA Rail and Brightline's have good anesthetics as well...
2. Speaking of aesthetics and not only design. Looking into the future: Amtrak in terms of single level equipment: no longer have no Bombardier Horizons, Budd Amfleets and very probably some minimum heritage equipment left. So hopefully Amtrak will consider contracting Viewliner 2 Cafe lounges and coaches for long distance trains for fleet uniformity and efficient fleet maintenance practices for trains such as the Lake Shore Limited, Crescent, Cardinal and Silver Service trains. Did I left one single level long distance train out?
3. Maybe the SC-44 replacement ALC42E's can also have third rail as more flexibility?
4. Amtrak should consider giving better tariffs so MBTA and MARC would be prospects to buy the ALC-42's...
5. What will happen to the relatively new Talgo 8's currently in service on the Cascades and the Wisconsin Talgos that never saw service? I smell a rat.
6. Will Bombardier Horizons be retired before the Amfleet 1's? I see a surplus of Amfleet 1's once some Venture cars enter service.
7. What's the deal of lead with the plumbing on water lines on the IDOT amtrak Midwest venture cars? When will that get fixed?
8. It's pretty nice to see Amtrak achieving an upgraded and uniform fleet in terms of parts and maintenance, they should become more efficient. Something they haven't have the opportunity to achieve due to multiple manufacturers.
9. I'd like to see Alstom build Superliner 3's and Viewliner 2 coaches and café lounges. Just so Siemens doesn't become a monopoly for Amtrak.
how about those old superliners once you get the info can you do a video about it plz
Please use the older equipment and refresh if needed in rural areas to Capital seats in small states.
We need mass transit also. I was born in 1957 boarded one of the last passenger train service in Arkansas to Little Rock,Arkansas in 1961 or 1962. I have never forgotten it . Thank You and God Bless.
I hope they add strobe lights on top of the engine just in case the ditch lights fail or when traveling in harsh weather conditions like fog, rain or snow
Ditch lights wouldn't fail they're just like regular headlights.
It is very sad that they are literally already planning to replace the ACS-64s when they were literally only around for like 7 years, it’s scary and makes no sense. Please Amtrak at least keep some!
I live in North Carolina so it'll be cool to see the new train sets on the Carolinian/Piedmont.
I assume the new Piedmont sets will get their own livery.
Most likely
Piedmont needs some new trains, Id also like to see an upgrade to asheville and wilmington.
VIA RAIL will have these same Venture trainsets the cab car is going to be used on all 32 trains Via ordered, I filmed the Completed Via train in Montreal, so Amtrak will use similar equipment.
These 83 trainsets were ordered by a video game called RO Scale Central Railroad. The game ordered 130 more trainsets. Which is a total of 213 trainsets. And PR43C engines # 4000-4011, 4300, & 130-141. And Amtrak ALC-42s # 300, 302-308, 301, 309-312, 313-374, & 375-474.
Is there any chance for you to make these episodes for MTA (Metro North, LIRR, and NYC Subway)? That would be so cool, and they’re always making something new for the future.
@@tom-and-mom sounds good to me
@@tom-and-mom here’s a picture of it
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M9_(railcar)#/media/File%3ALIRR_Kawasaki_M9_EMU_-_Jamaica_NY.jpg
Just read the updates and corrections in the description. Looks like ALC-42Es will remain primarily diesel-electric, instead relying on the first Venture car behind the locomotive to provide the electric power (except for third rail), whether pantograph or battery. This seems more consistent lol. Happy to hear that Keystone is no longer the exception with shorter trains.
VIA Rail released images of their Venture cab cars, I imagine theyll look the same apart from the Amtrak Long Distance or standard Charger nose
This sounds like the most Amtrak thing ever to replace straight electric ACS-64 locos with these ALC-42E dual modes. I get that they'd benefit from no longer swapping engines at, say, Washington Union Station, but it seems like a waste on services along the entirely electrified NEC.
Pretty sure they will still be used on the silver services
@@tom-and-mom because it’s photoshoped😐
I wonder if the Vermonter and Ethan Allen will still have the Cafe car when these new sets come in. While I like the new equipment. It will be sad to see the P42s and silver Amfleets go here in vermont
At 4:47 in the video
The purple double-decker car next to the German Siemens ACS-64 locomotive
is a vehicle manufactured in South Korea (Hyundai Rotem).
They should also keep the ACS-64 units for the Washington to Boston line
Awesome video Sam! I can’t believe Amtrak is intending on replacing the ACS64s
By the time these trains will be delivered the ACS64 are around 20 years old. MARC and SEPTA will probably take a bunch of them and maybe even Caltrain
I’ve never been so happy to hear about the valley foyer
One whole phase just for the Cascades… They should've gotten more Talgos.
I'm a train and I approve this video :D
The Talgos used on the Cascades today are not "aging". There are only 2 Talgo Series 8 sets in use today that were built in 2013, so not even 10 years old yet. All of the older Talgo Series 6 sets were all retired and mostly scrapped. The reason for this is that after the 501 derailment in 2017, the NTSB investigation labeled the Talgo 6 not meeting American crash-worthiness standards. That's a highly debatable topic, but it ultimately ended the Talgo era for the Cascades.
I'm somewhat sad about this since the Talgo equipment was rated to operate at up to 7" of cant deficiency (which determines the maximum speed in curves) while the Siemens Venture coaches can do a max of 6". Mind you, today no equipment goes beyond 5" due to safety considerations, but at least there was a possibility with the Talgo coaches and a suitable power car.
are you talking about america or what? because here in europe we have tilting trains that can tilt up to 8* and the avelia liberty can also do up to 8*
@@StefanWithTrains yes, when I said "Cascades" I meant the "Amtrak Cascades" corridor for which there are still 2x Talgo 8 trainsets in the fleet (but may be replaced by Siemens Charger+Venture consists entirely in the future, unclear).
Will the Cascade trainsets be tilting cars? The Cascades run significantly faster on that curving line than conventional passenger cars because of the Talgo design.
My concerns too
Wow. Wow and wow. And I thought norfolk southern was bad at getting rid if young locomotives. Hint hints the sd70acu.
Nice informative video! My train drawing skills used to be like that bad when I was little, so please don't feel bad.
Correction: ALC-42Es will carry a battery trailer car, 7 Venture Cars and 1 ALC-42 Style CabCar on the Keystone Service.
A while ago I got to see alc 42 #300 on delivery going through Iowa
Do you know at all what’s going on with the California Pacific Surfliner? Are we getting our cars renovated or are we getting venture cars to
NJ Transit may order the ALC-42E to replace most of the GP40PH-2s (excluding the GP40PH-2Bs on the Atlantic City Line) and the remaining PL42AC diesel locomotives that are not going to be replaced by the ALP-45As.
Probably not, They just want more ALP45s...
When I heard 'modernizing' and 'future' I thought, 'oh cool, so more tracks are gonna be electrify right?' and I forget it's america. They're somehow allergic to electrifying while the rest of the world is moving forward.
The reason why freight railroads don't electrify is that its a great risk and its a complete waste of money. Private freight railroads pay less using diesel compared to wasting money on electrification. The U.S. is also pretty big. Electrifying that big of a system is basically digging a hole for yourself.
Nuclear take: hydrogen is better for freight railroads.
@@danielchou5895 Just sounds like a a sizable piece of deflection, especially considering how they're testing battery powered locomotives, and a good portion of the rail system was electrified in the 30s
Big news! Excited to see these start to roll out these next few yeas. A little curious as to why the Empire Service and other upstate routes are the only ones without Venture cab cars?
They will have cab cars
The ACS 64s is one of the newest electric locomotive right now. honestly Amtrak should keep the ACS 64s or Amtrak could sell them to Maryland rail commuter or septa or New Jersey transit or Caltrain or go transit or other passenger commuter service
Nothing about the Superliners? Amtrak is already getting rid of equipment which is newer than those are, but there seems to be no plan in sight for their replacement
The superliner routes are always losing money so amtrak doesn't see a point in buying new epuipment for dying routes. However, they'll refurbush them
The superliners are almost always on money-losing routes, along with the fact that they're in the process of refurbishing/refreshing them. My best guess is that sometime later this decade, a plan to either replace them with single level cars or create some sort of Superliner IIIs will come out, assuming that Amtrak's funding or revenue increases.
@@jayway211 I’m not so sure. They just bought a bunch of ALC-42s which will pretty much exclusively be hauling those money losing trains.
What about cafe cars? Will those services be suspended?
The classic polished cars do look pretty nice though tbh
Nicely done! Can't wait until all of these things happen.
I can't believe they are planning on replacing the ACS-64s already....
But why would Amtrak retire the acs-64 locomotives now? There only 6 years old.
Replacing the acs-64s is a stupid waste of money, but it will at least give commuter rails such as MARC, MBTA, LIRR, and NJ Transit, a chance to buy them
You guys were like amtrak wouldn't get high speed rail then suddenly amtrak is spam buying bunch of new train cars,locomotives,etc... also I like to have amtrak to do partner ships with the other highspeed rail companies also the acs64 should also use the newest Siemens cars,the acs 64 should run on the regional from Boston to DC and the alc-42e should run on the regional Boston to places in Virginia, also amtrak should set up electrified corridors in the midwest and southeast and connect it to the northeast
Why is Amtrak replacing the ACS-64's for new ALC-42E's?
...so here in the Northwest we will be saying farewell to the Talgo train sets. Going to miss them. I live the bistro car.
Other than that, no change in the Midwest to replace the Heritage and Amfleet carriages there and no plan to replace the ageing Superliner stock used on long distance trains in the west. Was really hoping see a derivative of the Viewliner single level carriages that would eliminate the stairs have a better centre of gravity (being lighter as well) and give passengers a sense of interior spaciousness.
Also really love to see Amtrak come up with a solution to the ridiculous cost of accommodations on long overnight and multi day trips. 600$ a night (the average for a standard roomette on routes like the Empire Builder and other long distance western trains) is ludicrous. First class Air costs less. One idea would be to go back to the old "slumber coach" concept where seats folded into upper/lower berths, which would work well based on the Viewliner concept. It would mean slightly longer trains but with a reduction in weight per carriage which would compensate.
Amtrak is going in all the wrong directions, attempting to make it more "efficient and cheaper"
i still love they care about adding new lines and cars and focusing on the north lines and Amtrak still threatens to take away long-distance trains like the southwest chief. BNSF is up for redevelopment and open to adding electric but Amtrak doesn't want to pay
Electric in the west is useless. They have to engine change and installing and maintenance costs more than new locomotives and cars. Adding on, barely anyone takes those services so it would be practically useless. It's a supply and demand system.
I absolutely love these, especially the NER ones, but 2 questions. What is the "shuttle" and will there be cafe cars on the ALC42E trainsets for the NER?
The shuttles are the green valley flyer and Hartford line trains in the northeast
7:10 that trailer car looks like a tender for steam locomotives and B units for Fs and Es 7:15
This order while large seems to be short on seats? That's currently the problem on the NEC. Amtrak can't run more trains because of staffing and equipment shortages. I don't this order address that. I'm curious of they will slap on one or two more cars to make it 11 car sets instead of the current 9 car sets.
NEC Current: 1 ACS64 + 7-12 Amfleets
New order: 1 ALC42E + 7 venture cars + 1 cab venture (9 car set)
Possible add-on: 1 ALC42E + 9 venture cars + 1 cab venture (11 car set)
New Acela: 2 power cars + 9 passenger cars (11 car set)
What about the Texas trains (Texas Eagle, Heartland Flyer, Sunset Limited)? When are the upgrades coming to these routes?
I could not agree more !
It's about time that Amtrak has decided to update/modernize its trains.
they are going to replace the ACS 64 on all routes except for long distance routes that have to switch to electric power even though those trains would benefit the most from dual mode locomotive? maybe there was a mistake in communication.
It might be correct. The long-distance services need a special variant with a larger fuel tank, so the dual-modes they ordered might not be suitable for the long-distance runs. That said, it does seem stupid to order dual-mode locomotives to replace ACS-64s on all-electric routes like the Keystone Corridor and Northeast Corridor, rather than ordering special long-distance dual-mode locomotives.
DAMN IM SO LUCKY LIVING IN SACRAMENTO. All the new ALC-42’s are being at the Siemens Mobility Inc in Florin which is outside of Sacramento
Wie wäre es den, wenn Amtrak sich für Hybride Lokomotiven für die letzte Meile entscheiden würden, die quasi mit Strom aus dem Fahrdraht beziehen und zugleich einen Dieselelektrischen Generator haben. Das spart jede Menge Rangierarbeiten zwischen den Systemen Diesel- und Nichtdieselstrecken. Ja solche Hybride Lokomotiven sind in Deutschland und in Europa schwer im Vormarsch, weil sie im Transportwesen auf der Schiene im Vorteil und sehr wirtschaftlich, insbesondere auf der letzten Meile.
How about if Amtrak opted for hybrid locomotives for the last mile, which draw electricity from the contact wire and at the same time have a diesel-electric generator. This saves a lot of maneuvering work between the systems of diesel and non-diesel routes. Such hybrid locomotives are gaining ground in Germany and Europe because they have an advantage in rail transport and are very economical, especially on the last mile.
Where rare things on the Framingham line part 9 also what will happen to the NPCU
They better not scrap all the Amfleets. Some should be in museums, and I would love to see others continue to run in other roads' paint schemes. I'm sure some of the other lines that run the NEC would have some use for them, at the very least.
6:05 did I hear that correctly? 7 seven coaches plus a cab car for the valley flyer? That surely can’t be right as the valley flyer only serves greenfield, ma to new haven, ct and is currently operated with only one coach and one cab car. In addition to that it wouldn’t make sense for them to run the ALC-42E as there is no electrification on that route until the final stop in new haven.
They are dual mode
What is the future of long distance sleeper cars? The superliners are getting old and the view liners could continue to run on some routes with low clearances.
It might be a Superliner III
You know, Sam I will actually like the ALC-42Es & ACS-64 # 646 will serve as protect power.
Do we have to wait for after 2035 to see the retrofitted Amtrak Maglevs?
"It's fully funded." Interesting story plus with Brightline now too.
thanks from germany for buying our stuff
These will be manufactured in USA, though.
Looking forward to this New Rolling stock, I hope some ACS will keep as Amtrak extra train additional venture coach coupled to this.
Why are ACS-64 locomotives being replaced? I understand the decision when it comes to trains that operate only part of their route under wires such as the Crescent or Pennsylvanian, but what about trains such as the Northeast Regional (the ones that don't go into Virginia) or the Keystone service? Why not keep the ACS-64 for those? I have a feeling that a descent amount of ACS-64s will be kept despite that not being the plan.
Nice, I kinda made a Concept Art of Siemens Venture Set for San Joaquin services.
Great video
The ALC-42E’s are clearly tasked to eliminate the change of equipment at Washington. Long distance trains such as the silver star can save as much as a half hour by running dual mode equipment from NY Penn all the way to Miami and back.
There's a simple solution: using hybrid locomotives!
Why do they retire acs64s?
lol I thought they were finally getting a bunch of EMUs but this is also good since they can still run on electricity
Yes, sounds brilliant. What about the Viewliners and the Surfliner stuff?
While they look good, there is one problem, how the phase 2 plan is to have Siemens venture cars and not cafe cars, also, how the alc42e will work at the routes that are not electrified?
The answer, the entire southeastern and the north are unelectrified, and diesels can power the service's
The alc-42e is dual mode
@@No-le9qf I'm pretty sure they'll be some cafe cars. I'm pretty sure of it
Any idea why the ACS-64 will be replaced? Not efficient enough?
no reason actually
Why the hell would they replace the ACS-64s on the fully electrified routes with dual mode ALC-42Es!?! That’s just stupid and they’re not even 10 years old yet!!!
Cab car on the northeast regional? They don't use them now. Also I believe MARC is sticking with diesel locomotive so the ACS64s can go to Septa.
I've watched a couple of your videos addressing the equipment upgrades for Amtrak. There's been no mention of the Auto Train route which is there most profitable route. Do they plan to upgrade those passenger cars? I know that the auto racks probably won't be upgraded but the passenger cars are aging.