Amtrak is cancelling plans to expand its Acela Express fleet on the U.S. Northeast Corridor to pursue the introduction of next-generation high-speed trains on the route.
Early next year, Amtrak will issue a Request for Information (RFI) to formerly start the process of replacing the existing 20 Acela Express trains and adding extra capacity on the line.
Amtrak will now cancel its original ‘stop-gap’ plans to purchase 40 new passenger cars to augment its current fleet.
President and chief executive Joe Boardman said: “Moving directly to new high-speed train sets is the best option to create more seating capacity, permit higher speeds, and maximise customer comfort all while improving equipment reliability and reducing operating costs.
“The previous plan to add 40 new passenger cars with newer technology to the older Acela train sets was a stop-gap measure, posed technical challenges and was determined not to be cost effective and insufficient to handle new ridership growth projections.”
