Caltrans announced that Sumitomo Corporation of Americas along with Siemens will be fulfilling a USD 371 million multi-state contract for new railcars to be used throughout California and the Midwest. The newly finalized contract will supply 137 single-level passenger railcars, 49 to Caltrans and 88 to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The first cars are expected to begin production within the year.
The new coaches will be used on the intercity rail lines throughout California that serve almost 6 million passengers annually on the Pacific Surfliner, San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor. The new cars will come with spacious, modern interiors that focus on passenger comfort and convenience, such as Wi-Fi, spacious seats with convenient power outlets, large windows with great views for all passengers, bike racks, overhead luggage storage, work tables, state-of-the-art restrooms with touchless controls and full ADA accessibility throughout the cars.
Each car will be built at the Siemens rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento. The plant, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, is also powered in part by renewable energy. The Sacramento facility features full design, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities for not only passenger coaches, but across the rolling stock industry including electric and diesel-electric locomotives, light rail, and streetcars.
“This contract is moving full-speed ahead and that is good news for Californians, both in terms of job creation and better passenger rail service. Caltrans and IDOT are ready for these new railcars to provide additional seating capacity for our busy trains and support planned improvements to passenger service,” Malcolm Dougherty, Director, Caltrans, said.
Share on:
