The 28 new Acela trains will have nearly 25% more seats than their predecessor and operate at top speeds of 160 mph. The current fleet operates at top speeds of 150 mph.
Amtrak
All of Amtrak’s new Acela trains produced so far have manufacturing defects.This could cause increased costs and delays, an Inspector General’s report says. The $2.1 billion project is already more than three years behind schedule.
Amtrak’s new Acela trains could be delayed yet again, according to a new government audit of the $2.1 billion project.
The problem this time around? Amtrak’s Inspector General found manufacturing defects in all 12 of the trainsets and 22 café cars produced so far.
Some of the defects, such as misaligned ceiling panels, are aesthetic, the report, published Tuesday, says. But others are safety-related, like water drainage between cars causing parts that hold the train cars together to corrode. The vendor also reported that five windows “shattered spontaneously,” according to the audit report.
Alstom, the company designing and manufacturing the new trainsets, said it’s “surprised with so-called ‘defects’ that the OIG report identifies.”
Amtrak authorized each of the trainsets for shipping after “thorough inspections,” during which it identified modifications that needed to be completed before acceptance, the Alstom spokesperson told Insider.
The modifications are in “no way in the critical path of completion of this project,” the spokesperson said.
Delay Déjà vu
The high-speed Avelia Liberty trains are union-made in Hornell, New York.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Amtrak’s new high-speed Acela trains, which will have nearly 25% more seats than their predecessor and operate at top speeds of 160 mph, were originally scheduled to launch service in Spring 2021.
The trainsets were previously delayed by the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, then again in 2022. In June, the launch date was pushed for the third year in a row to 2024 due to complications passing federal safety checks on the Northeast Corridor.
In addition to being a pain in the neck for eager customers, the Acela delays have “already resulted in significant cost increases, operational impacts, and delayed revenue” for the program, the audit says.
The Office of Inspector General said it’s unable to know for sure if fixing the recently identified defects will cause a substantial setback to the 2024 service launch because the vendor’s schedule to address the defects is “incomplete.”
Amtrak says data provided by Alstom shows the trains are on track for initial revenue launch in 2024.
“We want our customers to experience these new trains as soon as possible, but as noted in the report, Amtrak cannot operate them for passenger service until Alstom has completed testing and meets all safety requirements,” Laura Mason, Amtrak’s EVP of Capital Delivery, said in a statement shared with Insider. “We’re working closely with Alstom as they complete the modeling and testing activities established during the program planning phase to satisfy the safety requirements specified by the FRA.”