WASHINGTON — Amtrak has issued a formal Request for Proposals for replacement of its bilevel long-distance railcar fleet, outlining requirements for what it says will be a multi-billion-dollar order for equipment projected to enter service in the early 2030s.
The document, which outlines for manufacturers requirements for coach seating, sleeping cars, food service, and accessibility, is not publicly available. It follows a Request for Information issued in December 2022 [see “Amtrak seeks carbuilder interest …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 19, 2023]. Amtrak says responses to that request helped shape the Request for Proposals; the company also held a public hearing in August to gather comment on accessibility issues [see “Amtrak reveals new long-distance trainset concepts …,” News Wire, Aug. 30, 2023].
Responses from manufacturers are due by May 17, 2024. The request is for bilevel equipment, “as it is Amtrak’s highest priority to replace the oldest portion of the long distance fleet,“ Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said in an emailed response to questions from Trains News Wire. Specific numbers of car types, as well as details on “classes of service, onboard amenities, and customer enhancements will be determined based on capabilities of the car builders.“ Those details will be made public once a manufacturer is selected. The plan is to order trainsets rather than individual cars.
“Procuring new equipment for our Long Distance trans is a one-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine our iconic routes through a modern, accessible, and sustainable fleet,” Amtrak President Roger Harris said in a press release. Said Tony Coscia, chairman of the Amtrak board of directors, “A new Amtrak Long Distance fleet will help us modernize and transform the service to meet the needs of customers now and into the future.”
Amtrak’s last order for long-distance equipment was for 130 single-level sleeping, dining, baggage-dormitory, and baggage cars built by CAF USA, a $298 million contract awarded in 2010 that took more than a decade to complete; the final cars were delivered in August 2021. The baggage cars see service nationwide, while the sleepers and dining cars are used in the eastern U.S. Nine long-distance routes are handled by Superliner equipment, bilevel cars built by Pullman-Standard and Bombardier. The first of those cars entered service in 1979 and the most recent were built in 1996; gradual reduction of that fleet through losses to derailments and other issues has created capacity issues for many of the Superliner-equipped trains.
— Updated at 4:30 p.m. CST with additional details.
