U.S. passenger railroad service provider Amtrak plans to buy new mainline passenger diesel locomotives from Siemens Mobility, a division of German energy to healthcare company Siemens, in a deal valued at $850 million.
The initial 75 locomotives to be bought will be used mainly for Amtrak’s Long Distance train service, with options to acquire more.
Amtrak said that the new locomotives, which will mainly replace Amtrak P40 and P42 locomotives, will offer more hauling power, advanced safety features, reduced emissions and boost reliability.
The new locomotives will be delivered at the beginning of summer 2021, with passenger service starting in fall 2021 and they will be built at Siemens Mobility’s rail manufacturing facility in California.