New Acela Trainset Inaugural Delayed to 2023

There will be further delays in placing new Acela trainsets into revenue service on the Northeast Corridor Trains magazine reported on Friday.

The report on the magazine’s website said recent testing of the equipment on the corridor found further modifications are needed as well as further testing.

The equipment, which was built by Alstom, was expected to go into revenue service late this year.

Just last week Amtrak held a media event in Philadelphia to showcase the first of the 28 trainsets built by Alstom. Each set has nine cars, including power cars at each end.

The Trains report said the Acela equipment is expected to begin revenue service sometime in 2023.

The report can be read at https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/alstom-explains-latest-delay-for-new-acela-deployment/

New Acela Trainsets to Launch This Fall

The interior of a first class Acela coach (Amtrak photo)

Amtrak said this week it plans to place Alstom-built Acela trainsets into revenue service this fall.

Amtrak held a media event in Philadelphia on Thursday to show the interiors of the Acela equipment, which had originally been set to begin service in fall 2021.

That date was later pushed back to spring 2022 due to supply chain problems and technical issues.

Railway Age reported that Amtrak said the latest delay in placing the equipment into service is due to the builder needing “to complete extensive computer modeling and simulation tests and ensure they meet FRA’s safety requirements with this latest generation of high speed technology.”

Amtrak ordered 28 trainsets from Alstom in 2016. Each set will have a power car at each end, seven business class coaches, one first class coach and a café car.

Each class is designated by color with blue for business class and red for first class.

Business class features 378 seats per trainset with every seat having power outlets, USB ports, and adjustable reading lights.

The business class cars also feature streamlined overhead luggage compartments, tray tables, complimentary Wi-Fi, an advanced seat reservation system, and head rests with wings.

An information system provides train location, train speed and conductor announcements.

First class seating provides more space and leg room as well as personal tray tables.

The café car will feature a self-select and check-out option, standing-room area with hip rests, electrical outlets for charging, digital screens for sharing information, and trash receptacles.

Use of New Acela Trains Delayed to 2022

Inauguration of Amtrak’s new generation of Acela equipment has been delayed for a year while the manufacturer modifies them to better work with the catenary in the Northeast Coridor.

The Acela trainsets had been expected to enter revenue service this year, but their debut has been pushed back to spring 2022.

Amtrak found the pantographs on the new trains sometimes lose contact with the catenary on curves resulting in the trains being unable to reach top speed.

Amtrak ordered 28 trainsets from Alstom. Larry Biess, Amtrak’s assistant vice president of mechanical, said the aging and curvy nature of the Northeast Corridor presented problems that the Avelia Liberty trainsets did not encounter in Europe.

Amtrak and Alstom are working to modify the trains but that will require additional testing, computer modeling, and simulations.

Biess said the testing has taken time and added several months to the timeline to deliver the equipment.

Acela Trainset Returns to Alstom Factory

One of Amtrak’s new Acela trainsets has returned to New York State after completing testing at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado.

The trainset passed through Chicago en route to the Alstom assembly plant in Hornell, New York, where the trainsets are being built.

The trainset has passed through Chicago in February 2020 en route to Colorado for the testing.

Amtrak held a media event in Chicago to mark the return of the Acela trainset..

Amtrak Testing New Acela Trainset in NEC

Amtrak has been testing one of its new Acela trainsets in the Northeast Corridor.

The testing is occurring over a two week period on track in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The route there has a top speed of 165 miles per hour. The tests havie involved the second new Acela trainset that Amtrak has accepted from the manufacturer.

An Amtrak spokeswoman told Trains magazine that the trainset will also spend time in Boston for maintenance and a shop ergonomic check.

Acela Trainset Makes Test Run on Keystone Corridor

New equipment built for Amtrak’s Acela service made a test run on the Keystone Corridor on Thursday.

The train operated from the Penn coach yard in Philadelphia to Thorndale, Pennsylvania, some 35 miles west of Philly.

Another Acela trainset is being tested in Colorado at the Transportation Technology Center where it recently hit a top speed of 165 miles per hour.

Amtrak wants to place the new Acela equipment into revenue service next year.

It has bought 28 Acela trainsets that are being built in Hornell, New York, by Alstom.

Acela Prototype Hits 165 mph in Test Run

Amtrak said this week that its Acela prototype trainset reached a high-speed testing milestone by traveling at speeds up to 165 mph at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colorado.

The prototype left the Alstom factory in Hornell, New York, where it was assembled, on Feb. 17 to travel to the Association of American Railroads test center in Colorado to undergo six months of dynamic testing.

Amtrak plans to put its new Acela fleet into revenue service in the Northeast Corridor in 2021.

The speed mark that the Acela prototype hit is faster than the planned 160 mph speeds Acela trains will travel in revenue service.

The prototype is expected to return to New York after the testing is completed and be given its interior appointments. Alstom is building 28 new Acela trainsets for Amtrak.

Tracking the New Acela Trainset’s Ferry Move

Amtrak’s Acela Express will never operate in Northeast Ohio in revenue service, but one of the next generation Acela trains sets passed through there last Monday afternoon en route to a testing facility in Colorado.

The ferry move of Amtrak equipment used the route of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited between Buffalo, New York, and Chicago.

The Acela equipment that is being tested has yet to receive its interior appointments.

Instead, concrete blocks were installed in place of seats to simulate load factors.

The equipment was placed on display for a news media event in Chicago on Track 2 at Chicago Union Station on Tuesday.

The Acela trainset runs on electricity so it was pulled from the Alstom assembly plant in Hornell, New York, by Amtrak P42DC diesel locomotives.

Viewliner baggage and dining cars served as buffer cars an Heritage fleet sleeper Pacific Bend provided accommodations for workers accompanying the ferry move.

Alstom is building 28 Acela trainsets for Amtrak with the first one expected to begin revenue service in the Northeast Corridor in 2021.

In the photographs above, the ferry move is shown at Perry, Ohio, on the CSX Erie West Subdivision east of Cleveland.

Photographs by Todd Dillon

Acela Trainset to Leave For Testing in Colorado

Amtrak said this week that the first new Acela trainset will depart on Monday for a testing center in Colorado.

The equipment, which is being built by Alstom in Hornell, New York, will undergo nine months of testing at the Transportation Technology Center near Pueblo, Colorado.

Tests will examine the trainset’s pantograph, railway dynamics, tilting, traction, slip/slide and wayside protection, brakes, and train control management systems.

After the testing has ended the trainset will return to New York for installation of its interiors.

Alstom is building 20 Acela trainsets with the first slated to enter revenue service in 2021.

The prototype set will travel from Buffalo, New York, to La Junta, Colorado, via Chicago between Feb. 17 and 19, using the routes of Amtrak’s Lake Shore Limited and Southwest Chief.

A second trainset is expected to move to Amtrak’s Penn Coach Yard in Philadelphia for testing in mext month.

A third trainset now being built is tentatively scheduled to travel to Philadelphia for testing in September.