Still no date for return of passenger train service at site of deadly DuPont derailment mynorthwest.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mynorthwest.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Amtrak has cut a major $7.3 billion deal with Siemens Mobility, a Germany-based manufacturer, to produce 83 trainsets at its Sacramento, California plant. The contract will rejuvenate the aging national passenger railroad company with modern equipment, replacing nearly 40% of the fleet by the early 2030s. A portion of the new trainsets will be coming to the Pacific Northwest and operate on Amtrak Cascades. Alongside this, Amtrak will invest $2 billion to improve facilities throughout the system.
In April, Amtrak announced that it had selected Siemens as the winning bidder to produce new trainsets, but had not yet finalized a contract nor disclosed the trainset model to be procured. However, Amtrak’s announcement this week confirms that the Siemens Venture series trainsets are to be purchased. This model is already owned and operated by Brightline in Florida and several state-supported Amtrak contractors, including the San Joaquins (California) and Hiawatha (Illinois and Wisconsin)
Amtrak trains crews on railway of deadly 2017 derailment near DuPont
Drivers and pedestrians are being asked to be cautious and remain patient as traffic delays could result from the test runs. Author: Christine Pae (KING 5) Published: 8:33 AM PDT June 2, 2021 Updated: 8:33 AM PDT June 2, 2021
TACOMA, Wash. Amtrak will undergo crew qualification training along the Point Defiance Bypass route until July 25.
It is the next step in getting the bypass back in service after years of delays since a high-speed Amtrak train went off its tracks in DuPont in 2017. The derailment killed three people on board and injured dozens more.
The bypass is a portion of the Amtrak Cascades route that connects Vancouver, Canada to Eugene, Oregon. The bypass, which stretches from Tacoma to the Nisqually Junction, was intended to cut delays on the Seattle to Portland portion of the route.