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6/23/2022
Amtrak announced today it has ordered 50 additional diesel-electric locomotives from Siemens Mobility to be deployed on the railroad's national network.
Expected to be in service by 2029, the new units will be built at Siemens plant in Sacramento, California, where Amtrak's earlier order of 75 ALC-42 locomotives are being manufactured. Siemens worked with Amtrak to design the new locomotives as part of the national intercity passenger railroad's investment in long-distance service, Amtrak officials said in a press release.
Amtrak is paying a total of up to $2 billion for the new locomotives and supplemental multiyear maintenance support of its national network, including about $850 million in funding set aside when the initial order was announced in 2018.
The Tier 4 units are more environmentally friendly than their predecessors from the 1990s, Amtrak officials said. Nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by more than 89%, particulate matter emission are cut by 95% and fuel consumption is also reduced. The locomotives can reach a top speed of 125 mph.
The 4,200-horsepower locomotives are designated as Amtrak Long-Distance Chargers and will replace Amtrak P40 and P42 units, which entered service 30 years ago.
The first of the new ALC-42s began service in February on Amtrak's Empire Builder route; the next units are slated to be deployed on the City of New Orleans route.