WASHINGTON – The national passenger train entity Amtrak awarded a $3.4 billion contract for 73 new trainsets, mainly for Northeast Corridor travel. The contract includes an option for up to 140 additional trains.The new trains will also go to the long-distance New York-Florida Palmetto service but not the Empire Builder or any other Chicago routes to the West Coast. The Empire Builder, which stops in Winona, will continue with the bilevel Superliner equipment introduced in 1975. Some new trainsets are destined to replace Amtrak’s Amfleet and Metroliner trains and some state-owned inter-city equipment. Whether this will include proposed Chicago-to-Green Bay and St. Paul-to-Eau Caire service into Wisconsin hasn’t been clarified. The contract went to California-based Siemens Mobility and will be built in Sacramento,
73 hybrid trains. The new trains will be Amtrak’s first multi-power hybrid battery consists. The livery in this rendering is manufacturer Siemen’s suggestion. Delivery begins in 2024.