Amtrak issues 800+ car RFP

Amtrak has opened bidding for more than 800 new passenger railcars to replace much of its long-distance fleet on 14 overnight and cross-country routes. (media.amtrak.com) The railroad said April 15 that it has issued a formal request for proposals to railcar manufacturers and expects to name a supplier by the end of 2027. Amtrak said many of the cars now used on those routes are nearing 50 years in service. (media.amtrak.com) The new order would shift all long-distance trains to a single-level design, replacing Amtrak’s current mix of single-level and bi-level cars. Amtrak announced that strategy change on February 26 after reviewing the operating challenges of a hybrid fleet and feedback from the earlier bi-level procurement. (media.amtrak.com) Long-distance trains are Amtrak’s overnight and cross-country services, including the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Crescent and Silver Star. Amtrak’s long-distance page lists 15 routes, but the new railcar program covers 14 routes, not the Auto Train, which uses a specialized vehicle-carrying consist. (media.amtrak.com 1) (media.amtrak.com 2) The timing collides with a fresh warning from Amtrak’s Office of Inspector General about the railroad’s older infrastructure. In a report released April 14, the watchdog said Amtrak still cannot reasonably show how federal funding will shrink its state-of-good-repair backlog or when that backlog will be eliminated. (amtrakoig.gov) “State of good repair” is the basic threshold for tracks, bridges, tunnels and power systems to work as designed, stay current on maintenance and avoid unacceptable safety risk. The inspector general said Amtrak estimates about $47 billion in infrastructure assets fall short of that standard and that the company’s target is to eliminate the backlog by 2040. (amtrakoig.gov 1) (amtrakoig.gov 2) The audit focused on infrastructure, not passenger cars, but it underscored how much of Amtrak’s physical plant is old. The report said Amtrak is responsible for more than 2,500 miles of track, structures and electrical systems, with some bridges and tunnels more than 100 years old and parts of the signal and electrical network dating to the 1930s. (amtrakoig.gov) The inspector general said Amtrak has improved some planning since 2016 but still lacks clear performance metrics, consistent internal roles and reliable asset data across its main tracking systems. The report said those gaps can lead to poor coordination, confused decisions and a higher risk of missing safety-related maintenance. (amtrakoig.gov) Amtrak has framed the new railcar order as one part of a broader fleet overhaul rather than a fix for those infrastructure problems. The company said it has received 79 of 125 Siemens ALC-42 long-distance locomotives and plans to start Airo service on Amtrak Cascades in 2026 before expanding that fleet to other corridors. (media.amtrak.com 1) (media.amtrak.com 2) For now, the next milestone is the bid process. Amtrak says the supplier decision is due by the end of 2027, while the company has separately said the first new long-distance cars are still planned for the early 2030s. (media.amtrak.com) (media.amtrak.com)