MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has selected Siemens to build the new equipment for its Quebec City-Windsor, Ont., corridor, a $740-million ($999-million Canadian) contract to build 32 trainsets with delivery beginning in 2022. The bidirectional tra...
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2018/12/12-via-rail-canada-siemens-announce-deal-for-new-corridor-equipment
Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine
Well now Amtrak will have to go to the back of the line for new cars and locos from Siemens ? Or will Amtrak settle for an inferior car product from someone else ? Now Amtrak will probably have to rebuild the P-32s instead of having the option to purchase new Chargers ?
blue streak 1Well now Amtrak will have to go to the back of the line for new cars and locos from Siemens ? Or will Amtrak settle for an inferior car product from someone else ? Now Amtrak will probably have to rebuild the P-32s instead of having the option to purchase new Chargers ?
We will have to see how this pans out but I tend to think that VIA settled for single level cars. Now we have been told that the Midwest compact wants the same but that was before the Feds changed the rules. We might see a flip back to two level cars for the United States. I think Amtrak feels they are more efficient as does the Midwest HSR Compact.
I think the replacement for the Amfleet I, will probably be single level cars.
Good news for Siemens though I think they have excellent quality and much better quality than that talgo crap.
CMStPnP We will have to see how this pans out but I tend to think that VIA settled for single level cars. Now we have been told that the Midwest compact wants the same but that was before the Feds changed the rules. We might see a flip back to two level cars for the United States. I think Amtrak feels they are more efficient as does the Midwest HSR Compact.
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
Can all of the VIA Rail stations handle tall equipment such as bilevel equipment? In any case, the Siemens trainsets are pretty much the only off the shelf, proven North American long distance product ready at this time for delivery in the time frame that VIA Rail (and the Midwest/CA consortium) requires.
I've read in the paper that the new Siemens trains are supposed to be able to run on catenary for when the corridor is electrified. Will I live to see it? Doubtful.
Brian_Tampa Can all of the VIA Rail stations handle tall equipment such as bilevel equipment? In any case, the Siemens trainsets are pretty much the only off the shelf, proven North American long distance product ready at this time for delivery in the time frame that VIA Rail (and the Midwest/CA consortium) requires.
Toronto Union Station is capable of handling Superliners, as proven when the Toronto-Chicago International was being run with Amtrak equipment.
Montreal Central might be a different story due to the presence of catenary, but the Budd domes do fit there.
Despite imminent plans to convert it to a subway/RER style line VIA has not given up hope of using the Mont-Royal Tunnel for a future Montreal-Quebec City service, and the largest cars that tunnel can handle are the Bombardier Multilevel coaches also used by NJT and MARC (not to be confused with the octagonal Bilevels GO Transit uses).
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
D.CarletonNot quite sure I follow. The Sumitomo Midwest/California car order subcontractor was transfered to Siemens for the single level cars; that order is in the books. This will be followed by the stock for VIA.
I read there might be minor differences between the CA and Midwest cars even though they are in the same order. They are both currently planned to be single level though. Read in another article Andersen / Amtrak have given up the plan to rehab the Superliners opting for replacement instead but no direction beyond that if they will be single level or bi-level again. Apparently there was a concern with the Superliner "frame" with another rebuild........have no idea what that meant and the article did not elaborate.
Brian_TampaCan all of the VIA Rail stations handle tall equipment such as bilevel equipment? In any case, the Siemens trainsets are pretty much the only off the shelf, proven North American long distance product ready at this time for delivery in the time frame that VIA Rail (and the Midwest/CA consortium) requires.
I thought in the past that Siemens does make bi-level cars off the shelf for Europe, thought Schlimm proved that on a long ago thread. Their bi-levels looked pretty cool. The problem back then when Schlimm posted that was the Feds had not yet relaxed the requirements for train purchases.
We'll have to see what they respond to the RFI with that Amtrak put out. I suspect Amtrak prefers the two level cars if it can get more seats per car for less cost per seat........I could be wrong though. We'll see, what Amtrak picks and what Siemens offers.
I do not remember the "International" being operated with Superliners as they would not fit in the St. Clair Tunnel. Amtrak provided an Amfleet consist and VIA provided a Tempo (later LRC) consist.
Superliners are operated on the "Blue Water", which terminates at Port Huron.
Yes but then it became the Wolverine and continued on to Chicago with the same consist. Travellers remained on the same train with Superliner equipment originating in Toronto.
Certainly, Superliners did not fit in the old tunnel--but they did pass through the new tunnel. My wife and I rode from Toronto to Chicago in Superliner cars in 1997.
In Port Huron, we had the briefest ever interchange with a customs official; "You two hitched?" "Yes."
Johnny
Proof of Superliners in Toronto:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZsO9YXVql4
That crossing at Strachan Ave in the beginning of the video has been eliminated, the road now goes over the tracks.
Looks like the track speed was good.
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