Amtrak awarded a Skanska a USD 40 million contract to rehabilitate and restore Acela train facilities for the next generation Acela 21 high-speed trains in Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York.
The rehabilitation will include structural modifications and industrial equipment upgrades to accommodate the new trains being placed into service in 2021.
The construction began in February 2020 and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2021.
The three maintenance facilities were initially built by Skanska 20 years ago.
The new trains are manufactured at Alstom’s 150 year-old historic site in Hornell, New York. They will be maintained at the three facilities under the specific technical support and spare supply agreement signed with Amtrak. The agreement has an additional support from Alstom’s sites in New York, Delaware and Illinois for a period of 15 years, with an option for an additional 15 years.
In February, the first Acela train manufactured by Alstom entered a 9-month period of dynamic tests at a technology centre near Pueblo, Colorado. After the tests, the train will be sent to Alstom for interior installations.
In 2016, Alstom and Amtrak signed a USD 2 billion contract for the to design and build 28 new high-speed trains which will operate on the 730-km Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Boston and Washington D.C. under the contract, Alstom will also provide Amtrak with long-term technical support and supply spare components and parts for the maintenance of the new trainsets.
The new trainsets will accommodate 386 passengers, an increase of nearly 30 percent, while preserving the spacious comfort of the current Acela Express trains. Each trainset will have modern amenities such as improved Wi-Fi access, personal outlets, USB ports and adjustable reading lights at every seat.
All the new high-speed trains are expected to enter commercial service by the end of 2022.
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