Amtrak unveils locomotives to replace aging fleet

When Amtrak unveils the first of 70 new locomotives on Monday, May 13, at a plant in California, it will mark what the national passenger railroad service hopes will be a new era of better reliability, streamlined maintenance and better energy efficiency.

Pictured: One of the new Amtrak Cities Sprinter Locomotives built by Siemens Rails Systems.

The new electric locomotive, one of three of 70 to be built, will run on the Northeast intercity rail lines and replace Amtrak locomotives that have been in service for 20 to 30 years.

On a broader scale, the new engines could well be viewed as emblematic of the improving financial health of Amtrak, which has long been dependent on subsidies from an often reluctant Congress.

Three of the new locomotives will be unveiled May 13 before being sent out for testing. The first is due to go into service by this fall, and all 70 are expected to be in service by 2016.

Joseph Boardman, Amtrak President and CEO, looked over the controls of the new Amtrak Cities Sprinter Locomotive in Sacramento, Calif.

Among the improvements in the new locomotives are computers that can diagnose problems in real time and take corrective action and a braking system capable of generating 100 percent of the energy it uses back to the electric grid — similar to the way a hybrid automobile’s motor acts as a generator when braking, according to Michael Cahill, CEO for Siemens Rail Systems.

Michael Cahill, president of Siemens Rail Systems, walked past one of the new Amtrak Cities Sprinter Locomotive.

The new electric locomotives are expected to produce energy savings of up to $300 million over 20 years, Siemens Rail Systems estimates.