SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Premium seating with “cocoons,” as well as pods that wouldn’t be out of place in first-class on a long-distance flight. Play areas with a beach décor. And at least two concepts — “comfort” or “flex” — for conventional seating.
All are contained in a series of renderings released this week by the California High-Speed Rail Authority for potential interiors for the first trainsets for the system under construction in the state’s Central Valley — as well as photos of a physical mock-up where some of the ideas are being developed.
The images were added to the authority’s website without any accompanying comment, quite likely because there is a long process to be navigated from these initial concepts to the actual trains to be built by either Siemens or Alstom [see “Alstom, Siemens named as potential suppliers …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 6, 2024]. But the “cocoon” seats appear to have pull-down curtains that would allow passengers privacy from those passing in the aisle, while the other premium seating style is more open but still offers enhance privacy.
Here are some additional renderings.
The authority also released photos of a mock-up being used to develop the interior concepts. The Sacramento Bee reports the mock-up is on display at Cal Expo, home of California’s state fair, and will be displayed at the fair this summer. It was unveiled to reporters earlier this week.
— Updated Jan. 26 at 8:15 a.m. with additional information on mock-up.
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