Amtrak
and expand its Acela Express service
in 2016, to run on the busy Northeast
Amtrak is
also boosting
track capacity
and ride quality,
and updating
stations along
the route
Railway Interiors International ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2019
40
preserving a high level of comfort.
Each train will have 386 seats.
Xavier Allard, director
of design at Alstom, says
ensuring the required
capacity without impacting
actual and perceived
comfort – especially in
terms of the seat design –
was the most challenging
aspect of the project, but it
has been achieved. “It’s a real
American train,” he says. “The
most important thing was to make
a train specifically for Americans and Amtrak.
“The challenge was to create a good balance
between space and solidity. The design had
to express a feeling of great comfort but also
reliability, robustness and quality. In Europe,
companies are very interested in very thin
backrests for example, to save space between
A mtrak announced its plan to renew
Corridor (NEC) from 2021. In addition to
infrastructure upgrades, the US$2.45bn
(€2.17bn) investment includes the purchase of
28 Alstom trainsets. The service is now simply
named Acela. “The next generation of Acela will
set a new standard for train travel in the USA,
providing our customers with a superior
experience,” said Caroline Decker, vice
president of Amtrak’s NEC line.
The trains will connect
Washington DC, New York and
Boston. The service carries
approximately 750,000
people a day – a total of
around 3.4 million in 2018,
up from around 2.5 million
passengers in 2002.
“As more people rely on
Amtrak, we need modernised
equipment and infrastructure to keep
the region moving,” said Anthony Coscia,
chairman of Amtrak’s board of directors.
“These trainsets will build on the popularity and
demand of the current Acela Express and move
this company into the future as a leader in
providing world-class transportation.”
To meet the growing demand, Amtrak
wanted to boost capacity by around 25%, while
TIMELINE
Project
announced
Interior design
revealed
Trains to enter
testing
Launch of
revenue service
All trainsets
should be in
service
August
2016
August
2018
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