Passenger Trains > Railway Age Annual Survey of Passenger Railcar Market

Railway Age magazine’s annual survey of the passenger railcar market shows that 1,141 new cars valued at nearly $2 billion were delivered to passenger train operators in the United States and Canada in 2009.

On Dec. 31, 2009, builders had a backlog of 2,580 new cars on order and undelivered. The operating agencies told Railway Age that they plan to place orders in 2010 for an additional 1,382 cars.

New railcar deliveries last year were nearly double the 596 cars delivered in 2009. Alstom/Kawasaki’s delivery of a 602-car order to MTA New York City Transit in 2009 made the big difference.

In addition to new cars, manufacturers and company shops delivered 677 rebuilt cars in 2009.

Results of the new survey, which was conducted by Managing Editor Douglas John Bowen, appear in Railway Age’s January 2010 issue.

The information is tabulated by purchaser, type of car, and builder. In addition to cars delivered in 2009, other lists cover the orderbacklog; orders expected to develop in 2010; and the five-year (2011-2015) outlook.

A separate listing compares new car orders for the past 10 years. A total of 8,961 new railcars were delivered during that period, including 3,092 regional/intercity vehicles, 4,536 rapid transit cars, and 1,313 light rail cars, streetcars, and automated people mover (APM) units. The light rail segment showed the fastest growth.

Railway Age Editor William C. Vantuono commented: “Examine the charts and tables that appear in our January issue, and you get a picture of a vibrant, growing passenger rail industry. There’s been a dramatic turnaround, and it’s picking up steam.

“Railway Age began its annual survey after the production of passenger railcars reached such a low point that the American Railway Car Institute stopped counting them,” noted Vantuono. “Today, the monetary value of the passenger railcar market is approaching that of the freight car market, and may well surpass it next year.”

All these thousands of new cars and not a single car for Amtrak--what a disgrace! It's getting very hard to explain Amtrak's inaction on ordering new car, or for that matter even asking for any. Congress isn't going to force new cars down Amtrak's throat--they have to formally request money for them, but they just won't.

Therefor, which of the following would you say is the cause of this disgrace (I would say "scandal"):

1. Just bad management- nothing deliberate, just stupidity.
2. Deliberate attempt by the Amtrak Board to limit Amtrak's growth
3. Republican Party opposition to expanding Amtrak
4. Democratic Party being phony in it's support of Amtrak
5. Airline Industry lobbying effort

It has to be one of the above (or a combination). No respectable management would look at Amtrak's ridership growth over the last 5 years and NOT order new equipment. Commuter Rail management has not neglected their growth. There is something terribly wrong at Amtrak.

Actually, Amtrak is in the process of acquiring quite a bit of new equipment, including single-level Viewliner sleepers, diners, baggage cars and crew dorms, new diesel-electric locomotives, new electric locomotives, and replacements for the Superliner 1 fleet. Some of these projects are in the planning phase, like the new locomotives and Superliners. The Viewliners are in the procurement phase, with builders having submitted responses to the Request for Proposals. Amtrak is also an active participant with States for Passenger Rail, wihich is a colaition of states that have, or ar interested in, state-supported intercity rail service. Amtrak has not ordered corridor equipment because the S4PR coalition is in the process of standardizing specifications and requesting funding. Their equipment needs may not be on the Railway Age survey because Amtrak may not have submitted the survey response. It's not a comprehensive survey by any means.

The comments that Amtrak is not acquiring new equipment just aren't true. I know Amtrak has a lot to criticise - don't beat them up for something that they're doing right.

Has anyone bid on the VIEWLINERS??

SteveDavis: The things you mentioned in your post won't be of much help if Amtrak is to continue growing even if they are eventually ordered. Those 30 electric locos. and 75 baggage cars are simply tiny replacements that passengers won't even notice, and won't foster growth.

And what "planning" is needed to order 50 Viewliners. They are an existing type of equipment with a known track record. And re-equipping the LD trains has not been considered, even though a couple of derailments would put some trains out of business due to lack of equipment.

I'm sorry, but Amtrak deserves every critic it has on the equipment front. To say Amtrak is "in the "process" of acquiring equipment is great "Spin", but in actuality they have been in the "process" of talking about the "process" to figure out what equipment they may someday need. They are sadly behind the other passenger train operators in this Country in addressing their growth.

Joe

Joe, how many projects have you spear-headed with a bureaucracy at the head end?
It's kinda like performing surgery with a dull chef's knife.

The Viewliners that are going to be ordered will not be completely identical to those in service. They will be improved/enhanced. changed in some fashion from the original order. This goes without mentioning the new car types which offer a whole new bunch of fun for the mechanical department.

Sure Amtrak management over the years hasn't helped, but nor have the voters or those in office. We eventually got the Express (not going to touch the amount of waste on that one), and we'll get new equipment sooner rather than later.

Keep in mind that CDOT has thousands of riders per day and is still using $hi77y M2 and M6 railcars that pre-date the battleships (Amcans) and they are in far worse shape. That "orgainization" has much more money than Amtrak and it has taken over 10 years for the replacements to even get some degree of funding or even for the project to get out of political mud. Only the first two prototypes are on the property, two years after the announcement of purchase.


-Tom


floridajoe2001 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SteveDavis: The things you mentioned in your post
> won't be of much help if Amtrak is to continue
> growing even if they are eventually ordered. Those
> 30 electric locos. and 75 baggage cars are simply
> tiny replacements that passengers won't even
> notice, and won't foster growth.
>
> And what "planning" is needed to order 50
> Viewliners. They are an existing type of
> equipment with a known track record. And
> re-equipping the LD trains has not been
> considered, even though a couple of derailments
> would put some trains out of business due to lack
> of equipment.
>
> I'm sorry, but Amtrak deserves every critic it has
> on the equipment front. To say Amtrak is "in the
> "process" of acquiring equipment is great "Spin",
> but in actuality they have been in the "process"
> of talking about the "process" to figure out what
> equipment they may someday need. They are sadly
> behind the other passenger train operators in this
> Country in addressing their growth.
>
> Joe

cutboy2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Has anyone bid on the VIEWLINERS??

Proposals aren't even due until something like next summer.

To TMurray: I guess I should stop worrying about Amtrak ordering new equipment. Someone is stopping them. I just don't know who it is.

Probably doesn't matter, though, for when the $8B in Stimulus is awarded to the winning States, they will order equipment. In fact, this thread started with all those new commuter cars ($2B worth) which were ordered by the States. Come to think of it, Wisconsin has ordered new Talgos for the Chicago-Milwaukee service. We'd all drop dead if Amtrak would order new Talgos.

Of course, this won't help the LD trains or the NEC very much. They will have to struggle on with a diminishing fleet of 40 year old cars; but, hallelujah, Amtrak might order baggage cars some day. But, things might chance. There is a "Jobs Bill" awaiting Senate action which has, I believe, $800M in it for Amtrak.

Joe