The delay in launching the Alstom Avelia Liberty high-speed trains

The launch delay of Alstom Avelia Liberty high-speed trains has cost Amtrak an additional $140 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a report from Amtrak’s inspector general, James Morrison.

This amount includes $48 million spent by Amtrak on maintaining 16 trains from the previous generation, produced by the Alstom-Bombardier consortium between 1998 and 2001, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Amtrak is grappling with parts shortages, using 4 trains from the same series as donors, which have been idle since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The remaining $92 million represents lost revenues from passenger services during the 3-year delay.

Currently, Alstom has delivered 6 out of 28 Avelia Liberty trains to Amtrak.

According to optimistic projections, the launch of the new fleet is expected in October 2024, although originally scheduled for 2021.

Alstom attributes the delays to challenges in creating a computer model for the trains that meets the requirements of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA).

Photo: WSJ

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