Engineering:Avelia Liberty

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Short description: High-speed train from Alstom for North America
Avelia Liberty
Avelia Liberty Slocum RI.png
Avelia Liberty trainset during testing in April 2021
ManufacturerAlstom
Built atHornell, New York
Family nameAvelia TGV
ReplacedAcela Express
Constructed2017–present
Entered service2024 (expected)
Number under construction28 trainsets
Formation11 cars (2 power cars, 9 passenger cars)
Fleet numbers2100–2155 (power cars)
Capacity386
Operator(s)Amtrak
Depot(s)Ivy City, Washington, D.C.
Sunnyside Yard, New York City
Southampton Street Yard, Boston
Specifications
Train length698.5 ft (212.9 m)
Maximum speed160 mph (260 km/h) (service)
187.5 mph (300 km/h) (max. w/ tilting)
220 mph (350 km/h) (max. w/o tilting)
Axle load17 tons
Traction systemIGBT–VVVF inverter control
Traction motors3-phase AC induction motors
Power output7,000 kW (9,400 hp) (total)
TransmissionAC-DC-AC
Electric system(s)Overhead line;
Current collection methodPantograph, 1 per power car
Braking system(s)Dynamic and regenerative (power cars)
Electro-pneumatic disk and tread (trainset)
Safety system(s)Advanced Civil Speed Enforcement System
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Notes
Specifications:[1]

Avelia Liberty is a tilting high-speed passenger train built for the North American market by French manufacturer Alstom (similar to SNCF TGV M) and assembled in the United States. Amtrak has ordered 28 train sets for use on its flagship Acela service along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., via New York City and Philadelphia.

It is part of the Avelia family of high-speed trains but adapted to conform with North American railroad standards, including U.S. Federal Railroad Administration crashworthiness standards. Amtrak says that compared to the prior generation, these trainsets would allow for improved frequency and greater capacity on the Acela service.

(As of October 2023), the trains are undergoing testing, and are expected to enter passenger service in late 2024.[2]

History

In 2000, Amtrak introduced the Acela service along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C., via New York City and Philadelphia. The service uses a dedicated Acela Express trainset that was built by a consortium of Alstom and Bombardier between 1998 and 2001.[3]

In August 2016, Amtrak announced a $2.4 billion loan from the United States Department of Transportation for the purchase of new high-speed train sets for the Acela service from Alstom. Alstom will also provide long-term technical support and supply spare components and parts.[4] These next generation train sets would replace the 20 existing trainsets that were nearing the end of their useful service life.[5][6][7] The 28 train sets ordered would allow for more frequent service on the Northeast Corridor, including half-hourly peak service between New York City and Washington, D.C.[8]

Trainset #2 on the Sawtooth Bridges in Kearny, New Jersey during testing in 2020

Construction and testing

U.S. assembly of the train sets is taking place at Alstom's plants in Hornell and Rochester, New York.[9] Initial construction of car bodies and major components began at Hornell in October 2017.[10] The first prototype set was sent to the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado in February 2020 for testing on the high-speed test track.[11] During the nine months of expected trials, the train sets were tested at speeds up to 165 mph (266 km/h).[12] A second prototype was delivered in March 2020 to Amtrak for testing along the service tracks in the Northeast which began in May 2020.[13] The first test run up to Boston South Station occurred on September 28, 2020.[14]

By 2020, the first train set was expected to enter revenue service in early 2022, with all train sets in service by late 2022, at which point Amtrak would retire the previous Acela fleet.[15][16][17] However, (As of February 2022), full high-speed testing is not expected to begin until late 2022.[18] In May 2022, 15 of the 28 trainsets were in "some phase of production".[19]

Testing at up to 165 miles per hour (266 km/h) took place in 2022. As of May 2023, the first trainsets are expected to enter revenue service in 2024, three years behind schedule. Testing has revealed a number of incompatibility issues due to the lack of tracks built to accommodate high-speed trains—Acela shares tracks with commuter lines and freight lines—and the age of infrastructure in the Northeast, some of which dates back almost two centuries.[20][21]

In October 2023, a report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General disclosed that the Avelia Liberty would likely go into service in the second half of 2024.[2]

On January 13, 2024, Amtrak announced that after thirteen previous failures, the Avelia Liberty had passed a series of computer simulations of running the trains over the Northeast Corridor tracks. Having passed the simulation, the trainsets have been approved by the Federal Railroad Administration for on-track testing between Washington and Boston.[22]

Features and production

Although Amtrak initially favored a New Pendolino derivative, the train set trailers are based on the AGV and power car design is based on Avelia Horizon, designed for the French high-speed rail network (TGV),[23] but adapted to conform with North American railroad standards, including U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)'s crashworthiness standards.

Besides containing more train sets than the prior generation, the new fleet will have train sets that each have 378 seats and 8 wheelchair locations for a total capacity of 386 passengers, allowing for 25% greater passenger capacity per train set.[6][9] They will be equipped with an active tilt system, dubbed Tiltronix by Alstom and based on Pendolinos, that will allow higher speeds on curved portions of the corridor track at a maximum tilt angle of 6.3°.[9][24]

Each Avelia Liberty train set has power cars at each end of the train, and (initially) nine articulated passenger cars. An additional three passenger cars can be added if demand grows. The power cars include a Crash Energy Management system to help meet the FRA's Tier-III standards while allowing a 30 percent reduction in train weight.[25][26] These trains will also have USB ports, power sockets, Wi-Fi, accessibility features, touchless bathroom facilities, trip information displays, a café car, improved HVAC, and other conveniences.[27][28]

The new train sets, along with track and signaling improvements, will allow for an initial improvement in maximum regular service speed to 160 mph (260 km/h) on some portions of the route.[29] Many infrastructure upgrades are underway or completed, allowing for more frequent service and faster speeds.[6][30][31][32]

See also

  • Avelia Euroduplex, a European bilevel high-speed train manufactured by Alstom
  • Pendolino, a European family of high-speed tilting trains, currently manufactured by Alstom
  • High-speed rail in the United States

References

  1. ↑ "Avelia Liberty press kit". Alstom Transport. July 26, 2016. https://www.partners.alstom.com/Assets/View/67efd9c5-e84c-468f-a2b5-2469b6e86210. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fitzgerald, Thomas (4 October 2023). "Amtrak's inspector general says first of new $2 billion Acelas don't meet federal standards" (in en). Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/transportation/amtrak-new-acelas-alstom-safety-standards-defects-inspector-general-report-20231004.html. 
  3. ↑ "Happy 15th Anniversary, Acela Express! — Amtrak: History of America's Railroad". December 11, 2015. https://history.amtrak.com/blogs/blog/happy-15th-anniversary-acela-express. 
  4. ↑ Vantuono, William C. (August 27, 2016). "Alstom lands Amtrak next-gen NEC trainset contract". Railway Age (Simmons-Boardman Publishing Inc.). https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/intercity/alstom-lands-amtrak-next-gen-nec-trainset-contract/. 
  5. ↑ Chase, Randall. "Biden announces new funding for Amtrak Northeast Corridor". Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-biden-announces-new-funding-for-amtrak-northeast-corridor-2016-8. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Amtrak Invests $2.4 Billion for Next-Gen High-Speed Trainsets and Infrastructure Upgrades" (Press release). Amtrak. August 26, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Alstom to provide Amtrak with its new generation of high-speed trains" (Press release). Alstom. August 26, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Next-Generation High Speed Trains" (in en-US). https://nec.amtrak.com/project/next-generation-high-speed-trains/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Sneider, Julie (December 2016). "Amtrak's 'Liberty' will be the latest of Alstom's high-speed Avelia trains". Progressive Railroading. https://www.progressiverailroading.com/amtrak/article.aspx?id=50291. 
  10. ↑ "Production of next-generation Acela Express fleet underway". Railway Gazette International. October 11, 2017. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/traction-rolling-stock/single-view/view/production-of-next-generation-acela-express-fleet-underway.html. 
  11. ↑ Briginshaw, David (February 18, 2020). "Next-Gen Acela Enroute to TTCI" (in en-US). Railway Age. https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/high-performance/next-gen-acela-enroute-to-ttci/. 
  12. ↑ Corselli, Andrew (May 22, 2020). "Amtrak Continues Testing on New Acela Fleet" (in en-US). Railway Age. https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/amtrak-continues-testing-on-new-acela-fleet/. 
  13. ↑ "Amtrak Procurement and Program Updates". American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. February 22, 2019. http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Documents/Amtrak%20Procurement%20and%20Program%20Update.pdf. 
  14. ↑ Gaffin, Adam (September 28, 2020). "Acela replacement makes first trip to Boston". Universal Hub. https://www.universalhub.com/2020/acela-replacement-makes-first-trip-boston. 
  15. ↑ "First Amtrak Avelia emerges" (in en). Railway Gazette International. https://www.railwaygazette.com/high-speed/first-amtrak-avelia-emerges/55182.article. 
  16. ↑ "New Acela Fleet fact sheet" (PDF) (Press release). Amtrak. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  17. ↑ Jagodzinski, Chris (March 18, 2021). An Inside Look at the Next Generation Acela (Speech). Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts Third Thursday.
  18. ↑ Ruppert, Daniel P. (February 25, 2022). "Update on Acquisitions And Capital Programs". PRIIA Section 305 Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee (NGEC). p. 6. http://www.highspeed-rail.org/Documents/9.b.%20NGEC%20Annual%20Mtg%2002252022%20%20Ruppert.pdf/. 
  19. ↑ Cupper, Dan (24 May 2022). "Amtrak invites press to inspect new-generation Acela" (in en-US). https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/amtrak-invites-press-to-inspect-new-generation-acela/. "Fifteen of the 28 sets are in “some phase of production,” he said." 
  20. ↑ Lazo, Luz (May 27, 2023). "Testing 'difficulties' delay launch of faster Acela trains, Amtrak says". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/05/27/amtrak-acela-trains-delayed/. 
  21. ↑ Mann, Ted (30 May 2023). "Amtrak's New $2 Billion High-Speed Acela Fleet Slowed by Century-Old Tracks". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/amtrak-acela-high-speed-train-2024-a7d8f2ca?mod=hp_lista_pos2. 
  22. ↑ Walker, Mark (2024-01-13). "After Years of Delays, Amtrak Moves Toward Faster Trains in the Northeast" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/13/us/politics/acela-amtrak-avelia.html. 
  23. ↑ "Production of next-generation Acela Express fleet underway" (in en). 2017-10-11. https://www.railwaygazette.com/traction-and-rolling-stock/production-of-next-generation-acela-express-fleet-underway/45300.article. 
  24. ↑ "More than providing tracks". https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/More-Than-Providing-Trains-Providing-Transportations-Solutions.pdf. 
  25. ↑ "Amtrak awards Northeast Corridor high speed train contract". DVV Media UK Ltd.. August 26, 2016. http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/high-speed/single-view/view/amtrak-awards-northeast-corridor-high-speed-train-contract.html. 
  26. ↑ Luczak, Marybeth (April 1, 2022). "Acela Trainsets: Amtrak Reveals Interiors, New Revenue Service Date (UPDATED)". Railway Age. https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/high-performance/look-inside-amtrak-acela-trainsets/. 
  27. ↑ Barrow, Keith (August 8, 2018). "A look inside Alstom's Avelia Liberty" (in en-US). Railway Age. https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/high-performance/a-look-inside-alstoms-avelia-liberty/. 
  28. ↑ Lazo, Luz (April 13, 2022). "Amtrak's faster, higher-tech Acela trains are delayed again". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/04/13/amtrak-acela-trains-delay/. 
  29. ↑ Alstom (2016). "Case Study: Amtrak Avelia Liberty". http://www.alstom.com/Global/Transport/Resources/Documents/brochure2014/Avelia%20Liberty%20-%20Amtrak%20-%20Case%20study%20-%20English.pdf?epslanguage=en-GB. 
  30. ↑ "New Jersey High-Speed Rail Improvement Program" (in en-US). https://nec.amtrak.com/project/new-jersey-high-speed-rail-improvement-program/. 
  31. ↑ Jacobs, Jennifer; Sink, Justin (January 30, 2023). "Amtrak Bottleneck Turns Biden's Focus to His Favorite Rail Route". Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-30/biden-to-kick-off-work-to-relieve-east-coast-amtrak-bottleneck. 
  32. ↑ Kanno-Youngs, Zolan; McGeehan, Patrick (January 31, 2023). "Biden Offers Millions for New York Rail Tunnel, Courtesy of His Infrastructure Bill". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/us/politics/biden-hudson-gateway-penn-station-amtrak.html. 

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