Brightline West Selects Siemens to Manufacture High Speed Rail Train Sets
May 01 2024 - 3:23PM
Business Wire
Today, Brightline announced that Siemens Mobility (Siemens) has
been designated the “preferred bidder” to build train sets for the
Brightline West high-speed rail project that will connect Las Vegas
and Southern California. The contract will include a fleet of ten
“American Pioneer 220” (AP 220) train sets to be manufactured,
delivered to Nevada and tested to support Brightline West’s
timeline of initiating service in 2028.
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Today’s announcement came after a multi-year competitive
procurement process conducted among multiple global competitors.
The selection, which is subject to the conclusion of definitive
agreements, is based on specific criteria that included price,
manufacturing schedule, train performance (e.g. speed and travel
time), ADA compliance, passenger amenities and total passenger
capacity. In addition, the criteria considered future
interoperability with the California High-Speed Rail project. The
trains will be built in accordance with all applicable “Buy
America” requirements.
This selection includes a 30-year rolling stock maintenance
contract that will be performed at Brightline West’s Vehicle
Maintenance Facility in Sloan, NV. At this site, crews will perform
routine daily maintenance, as well as long-term overhauls and
repairs. This will generate high-paying jobs performing train
maintenance activities on a permanent basis.
With the selection, Siemens will introduce the AP220 trainsets
which represent a new generation of innovative high-speed
technology, featuring the latest in passenger experience,
cutting-edge digital technology, and a revolutionary propulsion
system, built specifically for the U.S. market. These trains are an
evolution of the proven Velaro platform, currently operating in
Europe. The AP220 will introduce state-of-the-art technology
through an American supply chain spurring the United States to
establish a new industry rivaling countries that have had
high-speed rail for decades. Siemens will establish a new facility
to build the AP220 and will announce the location of America’s
first true high-speed rail production center when the contract is
finalized.
“Just as we redefined train travel with our trainsets for
Brightline Florida, we are excited to pioneer this new frontier of
manufacturing and development for Brightline West,” said Michael
Reininger, Brightline’s CEO. “The momentum we are building, will
culminate in new jobs and a new supply chain that will establish
the foundation for a high-speed rail industry from coast to
coast.”
“We are excited to work with Brightline to transform rail in
America. The high-speed chapter of America’s rail story will build
on Siemens’ 40 years of designing, building, testing, delivering
and maintaining trains in the United States,” stated Marc Buncher,
Siemens Mobility North America CEO. “On behalf of our 4,500 rail
employees across the United States, we are excited to be selected
to build and maintain America’s first true high-speed trains, which
will feature some of the world’s most innovative high-speed rail
technology. When they enter service, it will be one of the most
pivotal moments in the history of American rail.”
The AP 220 will be the first true high-speed train sets to be
built in America and are designed for operational speeds of up to
220 miles per hour. The propulsion system, lighter weight and
aerodynamic shape makes it more efficient than other high-speed
trains. The AP220 features an ultrawide carbody designed for
unparalleled passenger comfort and designed to be the most
accessible train on the market, exceeding ADA requirements and
allowing for guests in wheelchairs to move with ease from car to
car. The seven-car trains will carry between 434-450 passengers,
depending on final configuration and can make the trip in less than
two hours.
On April 22, 2024, Brightline West celebrated its
groundbreaking. The 218-mile system will be constructed in the
median of the I-15 and is based on Brightline’s vision to connect
city pairs that are too short to fly and too far to drive. The
system will have stops in Las Vegas, Nev., as well as Victor
Valley, Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The $12 billion
project was recently awarded $3 billion in funding from President
Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The rest of the project
will be privately funded.
Brightline partnered with Siemens Mobility to develop the
Venture series train sets, which debuted in 2018 on the company’s
Florida system.
MEDIA KIT
-BRIGHTLINE WEST-
ABOUT BRIGHTLINE WEST
Brightline is the only private provider of modern, eco-friendly,
intercity passenger rail service in America – offering a
guest-first experience designed to reinvent train travel and take
cars off the road by connecting city pairs and congested corridors
that are too close to fly and too long to drive. Brightline West
will connect Las Vegas and Southern California with the first true
high-speed passenger rail system in the nation. The 218-mile,
all-electric rail service will include a flagship station in Las
Vegas, with additional stations in Apple Valley, Hesperia, and
Rancho Cucamonga. At speeds up to 200 miles per hour, trains will
take passengers from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in about two
hours, twice as fast as the normal drive time.
Brightline is currently operating its first passenger rail
system connecting Central and South Florida with stations in Miami,
Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and
Orlando, with future stations coming to Stuart and Cocoa. For more
information, visit www.brightlinewest.com and follow us on
LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240501843548/en/
Media Ben Porritt, Brightline ben@gobrightline.com Kara
Evanko, Siemens Mobility Kara.Evanko@siemens.com