June 2022 Land Transportation News (Transportation Systems)

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Amtrak Debuts New National Network Locomotive

Amtrak’s new ALC-42 locomotives began service on 8 February 2022, pulling the famous Empire Builder west from Chicago to Seattle, Washington, as depicted in Figure 3. Figure 4 presents a close view of locomotives 301 and 302, which are among the first of 75 ALC-42s, which are an important part of Amtrak’s sustainability initiative. They reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide by more than 89% and particulate matter by 95% while consuming less fuel than their 1990s and early 2000s predecessors and reaching a greater top speed of 125 mi/h.



Figure 3
A vintage P42DC, built by General Electric, leads two of Amtrak’s new Siemens locomotives out of Chicago. (Source: Amtrak; used with permission.)



Figure 4
Two of Amtrak’s new ALC-42 locomotives. (Source: Amtrak; used with permission.)

“We take our commitment to sustainability seriously at Amtrak. We’re focused on being the solution to get people out of cars and planes and onto rail for greater emissions reductions,” said Amtrak Vice President and Chief Mechanical Officer George Hull in a brief ceremony at Chicago Union Station. A team from Amtrak and Siemens Mobility developed the locomotive series for heavier and longer trains traveling thousands of miles in a single trip, spanning the United States from Seattle to Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles to Boston. Hull indicated that Amtrak is working with Siemens to order more of the locomotives to meet its needs, particularly for long-distance trains.

These locomotives are Buy America-compliant and built at the Siemens Mobility rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento, California. The ALC-42 units will power the following trains: Auto Train (suburban Washington, D.C., to suburban Orlando, Florida), California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco), Capitol Limited (Washington, D.C., to Chicago), Cardinal (New York to Chicago), City of New Orleans (Chicago to New Orleans, Louisiana), Coast Starlight (Seattle to Los Angeles), Crescent (New York to New Orleans), Empire Builder (Chicago to Seattle/Portland, Oregon), Lake Shore Limited (New York/Boston to Chicago), Palmetto (New York to Savannah, Georgia) Silver Star and Silver Meteor (New York to Miami), Southwest Chief (Chicago to Los Angeles), Sunset Limited (New Orleans to Los Angeles), and Texas Eagle (Chicago to San Antonio, Texas).

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