Amtrak Cities Sprinter
Encyclopedia
The Amtrak Cities Sprinter, or ACS-64, is an electric locomotive designed by Siemens Mobility for Amtrak
.
with secondary work occurring at Siemens facilities in Norwood, Ohio
and Alpharetta, Georgia
. The initial order for 70 locomotives is worth $466 million. The locomotives are planned to operate on the Northeast Corridor
and the Keystone Corridor
and replace the railroad's fleet of AEM-7 and HHP-8
locomotives. Initially, the 20 AEM-7DC units with direct current
propulsion would be replaced, followed by the rebuilt 29 AEM-7ACs with alternate current and lastly by the 15 HHP-8
units. The extra units in the ACS-64 order would serve to increase service. The order came as part of Amtrak's company-wide fleet-replacement program, and was the second part of the plan, after an order for 130 Viewliner II passenger cars was placed in July 2010.
On 30 June 2011, US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
announced that Amtrak had received a US$562.9 million loan from the government's Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program to finance the order for the new locomotives.
and the Vectron
platforms, but with significant structural changes including crumple zones; hence they are heavier too. They will be able to operate off of 25 kV, 12.5 kV, and 12 kV power supplies, and have a total power of 6.4 MW. The locomotives are designed to be capable of accelerating 18 car Amfleet trains to maximum speeds as high as 125 mph (201.2 km/h) on the Northeast Corridor and 110 mph (177 km/h) on the Keystone Corridor in a little over eight minutes. They have advanced safety systems, including specialized couplers
designed to keep trains from rolling over, jacknifing, and derailing during a collision. Additionally, the new locomotives will be more energy-efficient than those that they replace, and will lack dynamic braking grids to favor 100% regenerative braking, depending on grid receptiveness. In addition, the locomotive will include system redundancies, such as dual identical 1000 kW HEP inverters and auxiliary inverters. This will allow the locomotive to remain in service should one inverter fail en route.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
.
Order
In October 2010, Amtrak ordered 70 locomotives, to be delivered from February 2013 onwards; the locomotives will be manufactured in Florin, CaliforniaFlorin, California
Florin is a census-designated place in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade–Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area...
with secondary work occurring at Siemens facilities in Norwood, Ohio
Norwood, Ohio
Norwood is the second most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The city is an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 21,675 at the 2000 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of Cincinnati in the wooded countryside north of the city, the area is...
and Alpharetta, Georgia
Alpharetta, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,854 people, 13,911 households, and 8,916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,631.6 people per square mile . There were 14,670 housing units at an average density of 686.7 per square mile...
. The initial order for 70 locomotives is worth $466 million. The locomotives are planned to operate on the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
and the Keystone Corridor
Keystone Corridor
The Keystone Corridor is a Federal Railroad Administration "designated high speed corridor" with a 349-mile railroad line between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a top speed of...
and replace the railroad's fleet of AEM-7 and HHP-8
HHP-8
The Acela HHP-8 is a double-ended electric locomotive manufactured by a consortium of Bombardier and Alstom. HHP-8 stands for High HorsePower 8000...
locomotives. Initially, the 20 AEM-7DC units with direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
propulsion would be replaced, followed by the rebuilt 29 AEM-7ACs with alternate current and lastly by the 15 HHP-8
HHP-8
The Acela HHP-8 is a double-ended electric locomotive manufactured by a consortium of Bombardier and Alstom. HHP-8 stands for High HorsePower 8000...
units. The extra units in the ACS-64 order would serve to increase service. The order came as part of Amtrak's company-wide fleet-replacement program, and was the second part of the plan, after an order for 130 Viewliner II passenger cars was placed in July 2010.
On 30 June 2011, US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
Ray LaHood
Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood is a Republican politician from Illinois who is currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, having served since 2009. Previously, he represented the Illinois's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms .-Early life and...
announced that Amtrak had received a US$562.9 million loan from the government's Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program to finance the order for the new locomotives.
Design
The design is based on the EuroSprinterEuroSprinter
The EuroSprinter family of electric locomotives is a modular concept of locomotives for the European market built by Siemens. The internal Siemens product name is ES 64, with ES for EuroSprinter and the number 64 indicating the 6,400 kW power at rail.Additional information is given in the name...
and the Vectron
Vectron (locomotive)
The Vectron is a design of reconfigurable, modular Bo'Bo' multipurpose locomotive by Siemens Mobility, intended to be the successor to the successful EuroSprinter family of locomotives...
platforms, but with significant structural changes including crumple zones; hence they are heavier too. They will be able to operate off of 25 kV, 12.5 kV, and 12 kV power supplies, and have a total power of 6.4 MW. The locomotives are designed to be capable of accelerating 18 car Amfleet trains to maximum speeds as high as 125 mph (201.2 km/h) on the Northeast Corridor and 110 mph (177 km/h) on the Keystone Corridor in a little over eight minutes. They have advanced safety systems, including specialized couplers
Coupling (railway)
A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...
designed to keep trains from rolling over, jacknifing, and derailing during a collision. Additionally, the new locomotives will be more energy-efficient than those that they replace, and will lack dynamic braking grids to favor 100% regenerative braking, depending on grid receptiveness. In addition, the locomotive will include system redundancies, such as dual identical 1000 kW HEP inverters and auxiliary inverters. This will allow the locomotive to remain in service should one inverter fail en route.