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[quote user="Overmod"] likewise, I can't say definitively whether any of the PRIIA construction could be "improved" for safe 150mph operation. [/quote] I don't think the proposed PRIIA equipment can upgraded to 150 mph easily. The PRIIA equipment is designed for maximum speeds of 125 mph and falld into FRA's crashworthiness Tier 1 standard while 150 mph falls into Tier 2. There are different requirements for doors, windows, trucks because of the increased. All elements are available from, in case of Siemens, the ICE-trains. Nevertheless the cars would be a completely new design. The european railroad decided to use locomotive drawn train up to 200 kph (125 mph) and above that trainsets. I believe reason was, among others, the axle load limit which only allowed limited power installed in a locomotive, not enough to propel a train to 300 km/h (186 mph). The limit seems to be about a maximum of 6,400 kW as in Siemens Vectron, Bombardier Traxx, and Alstom Prima II locomotives. As for the cars I would expect the locomotive for a 150mph train to be a complete new design because of crashworthiness Tier 2 requirements, more powerful electrical equipment, more powerful traction motors, new designed trucks (not available yet) and that within axle load limits determined by vehicle dynamics. And that for a series of 28 train sets. Perhaps that led Amtrak to go with an of the shelf HSR-railcar that can get Amercanized. Regards, Volker
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