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Rail News Home Mechanical

3/7/2012



Rail News: Mechanical

Oregon DOT's new Amtrak Cascades trains to enter service in fall


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The state of Oregon’s two new 13-car trainsets, now being manufactured at the Talgo plant in Wisconsin, are scheduled to arrive in Seattle in June, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently announced.

The trains, which were funded with federal stimulus dollars, will undergo testing in Seattle before they enter service with Oregon’s other trains operating on the Amtrak Cascades line between Eugene, Ore., and Vancouver, British Columbia, ODOT officials said in a statement posted on the department’s website.

ODOT officials anticipate the new trains will be ready for revenue service by fall.

The five trainsets currently operating on the Cascades corridor “are stretched to their limit covering existing service commitments, and any planned expansion would not be possible without additional trains,” ODOT officials said.

Amtrak Cascades ridership has continued to set records, and recent open houses held around the state to solicit public input indicated “Oregonians favor a strong passenger-rail program,” they said.

The original purchase agreement with Talgo put the trainsets’ cost at $36.6 million; the department has since approved an additional $441,276 in change orders.