(Photo courtesy of Amtrak)
Amtrak has delayed the rollout of its new generation of Acela trains until 2024, citing tests taking longer than expected.
The high-end trains had been slated for the Washington, DC to Boston corridor route that includes stops in Wilmington, one of the busier Amtrak stations.
“Alstom, the supplier, and builder of our new Acela trainsets, has confirmed that their modeling effort is further delayed due to difficulties in replicating certain movements of the trainsets and requires further refinement to receive the FRA’s (Federal Railroad Administration) approval to conduct qualification testing on the Northeast Corridor, which is necessary to achieve compliance to launch revenue service,” Amtrak stated.
The statement continued, “We want our customers to experience these new trainsets as soon as possible, but Amtrak cannot operate them for passenger service until Alstom has completed testing and meet all safety requirements.”
The new trainsets would replace trainsets dating from the late ’90s and early 2000s.
The new trains are capable of traveling up to 160 miles an hour. Still, unlike their European and Asian counterparts, they deal with an old infrastructure with century-old bridges, tunnels, and roadbeds with numerous curves.
Amtrak is receiving billions of dollars in federal funds to upgrade the Northeast Corridor and other routes.
Amtrak is also adding new cars and locomotives to replace 40 to 50-year-old locomotives and cars on its budget Northeast Regional and other routes.
AmeriStarRail, a start-up based in Wilmington, has proposed operating Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor with all Acela service, claiming that using the Northeast Regional equipment only for passengers paying lower fares amounts to discrimination.
AmeriStar has also been critical of a decision not to deploy the new generation of non-Acela equipment on the Northeast Corridor. Instead, the Airo trains will first go to routes elsewhere in the nation.
Amtrak, pre-pandemic, employed about 1,000 in Delaware.
The railroad, owned by the US government, has reported that passengers are returning to its system, a contrast to commuter railroads, like SEPTA, that have seen a slower recovery from Covid-19 with many facing financial issues.
