Siemens Mobility has bagged a contract worth €744 million from the US National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to design and manufacture 75 Charger diesel-electric locomotives.

The 75 locomotives will take the place of and supplement the aging national network diesel locomotive fleet of Amtrak, which are utilized for long-distance and state-supported routes.

Delivery of the new locomotives will commence in summer, 2021, with passenger service to begin in fall, 2021.

Siemens Mobility plans to manufacture the locomotives at its North American rail manufacturing plant in Sacramento, California.

The ordered locomotives will power trains deployed on lines that spread across the US, from north-to-south and east-to-west and are anticipated to begin operations by 2024.

Sabrina Soussan – CEO of Siemens Mobility said: “We’re proud and grateful to expand our relationship with Amtrak, a leader in the U.S. passenger rail transportation, which started nearly a decade ago with locomotives for the Northeast Corridor, connecting two of the U.S.’s largest cities, Washington, DC and New York, NY. We’re confident that the new locomotives will assist Amtrak in its mission to provide safe, world-class, environmentally-responsible technology for its passengers.

“The Chargers will provide enhanced passenger experience, greater availability and increased sustainability over the course of their lifecycle, improving Amtrak’s long-distance services and operating efficiencies.”

According to Siemens Mobility, the Charger locomotive is a popular passenger locomotive in North America. Over 70 Chargers are transporting passengers across North America, traveling nearly five million kilometers a year.

Siemens Mobility claims that the Charger locomotives provide the latest safety systems such as Crash Energy Management and the US-mandated Positive Train Control (PTC), a communication-based train control.

Equipped with the QSK95 Cummins 4,400 horsepower-capable 16-cylinder engine, the new locomotives to be delivered by Siemens Mobility for Amtrak are capable of speeds up to 125MPH.

The Charger locomotive is less noisy than the diesel engines it will be replacing while providing an optimized design with smoother traction control.

Further, the new locomotives with their Tier 4 emissions technology are also more environmentally-friendly compared to their predecessors, said, said Siemens Mobility. They are capable of reducing nitrogen oxide by more than 89% and particulate matter by 95%, in comparison to Tier 0 standard.

The contract awarded to the Siemens group company also covers a multi-year Technical Support Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA).

  Amtrak, Sabrina Soussan, Siemens Mobility, USA