OIG: Amtrak should improve stakeholder input on major capital programs

Amtrak did not validate trainset and maintenance facility designs with its own personnel early in its $7.3 billion Intercity Trainset program — now called Airo — resulting in costly redesigns and schedule delays, according to an Amtrak Office of Inspector General report released last week.

Amtrak in June 2021 contracted with Siemens Mobility in Sacramento, California, to purchase up to 83 new trainsets. Amtrak unveiled renderings of Airo earlier this month and plans to use funds from the federal Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act to pay for the trainsets.

According to the OIG report, Amtrak experienced early challenges with stakeholder engagement in its trainset acquisition and maintenance facility modification work. In one example, Amtrak waited until three months after signing the Intercity Trainset contract with Siemens before its food and beverage personnel reviewed the design of the planned food service car. They found that the car’s initial design lacked the food storage space to accommodate longer trips and required additional space for customers to stand and move through the galley car.

As a result, Amtrak ordered redesigns for the cafe car, which increased costs by $42.5 million and will delay the delivery of the first trainsets by five-and-a-half months, the report states.

In addition, the railroad did not engage with key personnel at the maintenance facilities that will accommodate the new trainsets as it developed their designs. For example, in February, program officials visited the Seattle maintenance facility to verify the preliminary design, but onsite personnel identified a design element that would have negatively affected maintenance and commuter train operations in the yard, which resulted in another design change. Amtrak paused all maintenance facility design activities in spring to host stakeholder workshops at each of the 21 facilities it planned to modify as part of the Intercity Trainset program.

Any additional design changes resulting from the workshops could delay construction by 10 to 13 months, the report states.

Although Amtrak has identified these challenges and is addressing them, the report notes that the railroad has not established controls to avoid challenges with stakeholder engagement on future capital programs. To address its findings, the OIG recommended Amtrak ensure program personnel identify and engage all relevant stakeholders to specify requirements early and modify those requirements as program needs and assumptions evolve.

Amtrak Airo trains will operate across the country, including on the following routes: Northeast Regional, Empire Service, Virginia Services, Keystone Service, Downeaster, Cascades, Maple Leaf, New Haven/Springfield Service, Palmetto, Carolinian, Pennsylvanian, Vermonter, Ethan Allen Express and Adirondack.

The trains will be faster and more fuel efficient, operating at speeds up to 125 mph and producing 90% less particulate emissions in diesel operations, according to Amtrak.