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The Siemens ACS-64, or Amtrak Cities Sprinter, is an
electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...
designed by
Siemens Mobility Siemens Mobility GmbH is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, ...
for use on the
Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
(NEC) and the
Keystone Corridor The Keystone Corridor is a 349-mile (562 km) railroad corridor between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that consists of two rail lines: Amtrak and SEPTA's Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, Philadelphia-to-Harrisburg main li ...
in the
northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...
. The design was based on locomotives Siemens created for use in Europe and Asia, but with changes to comply with American standards. The ACS-64 is built at the Siemens factory in Florin, California, located outside of
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
. The first 70 locomotives were built for Amtrak to replace the railroad's fleet of aging AEM-7 and unreliable HHP-8 locomotives. The first ACS-64 entered service in February 2014 and deliveries continued until August 2016. The
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people throughou ...
(SEPTA), in Southeastern Pennsylvania, operates a fleet of 15 ACS-64s since August 2018, on the agency's
Regional Rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...
Lines.


Design

The design is based on the
EuroSprinter The EuroSprinter family of electric locomotives is a modular concept of locomotives for the European market built by Siemens Mobility. The internal Siemens product name is ES 64, with ES for EuroSprinter and the number 64 indicating the 6,400  ...
and the Vectron platforms, which Siemens sells in Europe and Asia. Significant structural changes to the design were made to comply with American
crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Different criteria are used to figure out how safe a structure is in a crash, ...
requirements, including the addition of crumple zones and anti-climbing features as well as structural strengthening of the cab, resulting in a heavier locomotive than the previous models. The body is a
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
structure with integral frames and sidewalls. The locomotives are able to operate from the , , and power supplies used on the Northeast Corridor, and have a maximum power of . The locomotives are designed to be capable of accelerating 18
Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger car (rail), passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Budd Metroliner, Me ...
cars to maximum speeds as high as on the Northeast Corridor in a little over eight minutes, with trains of eight Amfleets taking two and a half minutes to reach the same speed. They had advanced safety systems, including specialized
couplers Coupler may refer to: Engineering Mechanical * Railway coupler, a mechanism for connecting rolling stock on a train ** Janney coupler ** SA3 coupler ** Scharfenberg coupler for multiple unit passenger cars * Quick coupler, used in construction m ...
designed to keep trains from rolling over, jackknifing, or derailing during a collision. Additionally, the new locomotives are more energy-efficient than those that they replace, and lack dynamic braking grids in favor of 100%
regenerative braking Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy or potential energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. Typically, regenerativ ...
, depending on grid receptiveness. Energy generated from the brake may also be used to meet HEP needs, further reducing current draw from the grid. Each locomotive has two electrical converter units with three
IGBT An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily forming an electronic switch. It was developed to combine high efficiency with fast switching. It consists of four alternating layers (NPNP) that ...
based, water cooled output
inverters A power inverter, inverter, or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the op ...
per converter. Two of the inverters power the traction motors; the third unit supplies head-end and auxiliary power. The HEP/auxiliary inverters are dual-redundant and identical (rated ), allowing the locomotive to remain in service should one inverter fail en route. The locomotive
bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...
s are fabricated steel designs, with low-lying traction links and center pivot pin. The traction motors are frame-mounted, with
torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...
transmitted via a hollow shaft drive. Locomotive braking is facilitated by cheek mounted
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a
rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...
rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...
s on each wheel. The locomotives are compliant with the "
Buy America Act Section 165 () of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (commonly called the Buy America Act) is a section of the larger STAA that deals with purchases related to rail or road transportation. Unlike the similarly titled Buy Ameri ...
" and were assembled at the Siemens factory in Florin, California, with traction and electrical equipment being manufactured at Siemens facilities in Norcross and
Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. History In the 1830s, ...
. Traction inverters were manufactured in Alpharetta, and the traction motors and gear units were manufactured in
Norwood, Ohio Norwood is the third most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 19,043 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of ...
.


Amtrak


Procurement

In October 2010, Amtrak ordered 70 locomotives at a cost of US$466 million, to be delivered beginning in February 2013. The order was the second part of Amtrak's company-wide fleet-replacement program, after an order for 130
Viewliner II The Viewliner is a single-level railroad car type operated by Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. ...
passenger cars was placed in July 2010. On June 30, 2011, US Secretary of Transportation
Ray LaHood Raymond H. LaHood ( ; born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the ...
announced that Amtrak had received a $562.9 million loan from the federal government's
Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing The Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program is a program established in the United States by the passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). Under the RRIF program, funds can be made available for ...
program for the new locomotives. The additional funding over and above the $466 million will cover capital spare parts and facility improvements to accommodate the ACS-64s. Amtrak and Siemens Mobility unveiled the first three completed locomotives on May 13, 2013. They were tested during the summer of 2013: 600 and 601 at the
Transportation Technology Center The Transportation Technology Center (TTC) is a railroad equipment testing and training facility located northeast of Pueblo, Colorado, owned by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). It was built in 1971 as the High Speed Ground Test Center ...
in
Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...
, and No. 602 on the NEC. On February 6, 2014, then-Vice President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
visited 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to tour ACS-64 #600. In his subsequent remarks he stressed the importance of infrastructure investment as well as the important role Amtrak's new locomotives will play in serving the critical artery of the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak and Siemens celebrated the completion of the last ACS-64, No. 670, in Florin, California, on June 2, 2016. The celebration concluded with unit No. 670 being towed by Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman's train bound for
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Locomotive No. 670 entered service in August 2016, completing the acceptance of the Amtrak order.


Service

Unit 600 entered service on February 7, 2014, on ''
Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...
'' train 171 from Boston to Washington, D.C. As the new locomotives entered service, they gradually displaced the electric locomotives that Amtrak had previously operated. The extra six ACS-64 units were to be used to increase the number of locomotives available for use at any point, and to add more frequent service in the future. The final unit, #670, was delivered from Siemens on June 2, 2016, and entered revenue service in August of the same year.


SEPTA

In May 2015,
SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...
(
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
's mass-transit authority) approved an initial order for 13 ACS-64 locomotives for commuter service to replace its 7 AEM-7 and single
ALP-44 The ABB ALP-44 was an electric locomotive which was built by Asea Brown Boveri of Sweden between 1989 and 1997 for the New Jersey Transit and SEPTA railway lines. Service New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit acquired 32 ALP-44s for use on its ...
locomotives on push-pull express trains, with an option for an additional five locomotives to be added to the order. On November 11, 2015,
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
announced that it was awarded the $118 million contract for the initial 13 locomotives. The total contract value, including the option for additional locomotives, is worth $154 million. On February 29, 2016, Amtrak unit 664 began test runs on SEPTA Regional Rail branches to test the height of the locomotives on SEPTA territory, and to ensure clearance through the Center City Tunnel. After testing the unit on most of SEPTA's lines, it was returned to Amtrak on March 21, 2016, for completion of its acceptance testing. From July 2016 until April 2017, SEPTA leased several ACS-64 units to pull five
Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger car (rail), passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Budd Metroliner, Me ...
cars and several MARC Train sets as emergency rolling stock after all Silverliner V cars were temporarily pulled from service. SEPTA's first ACS-64 was delivered on December 14, 2017, by which time SEPTA had increased its order to 15 locomotives. The first unit entered service on the
Paoli/Thorndale Line The Paoli/Thorndale Line, commonly known as the Main Line, is a SEPTA Regional Rail service running from Center City, Philadelphia, Center City Philadelphia through Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County and Delaware County, Pennsylvan ...
on July 11, 2018.


References


Further reading

*


External links

{{SEPTA rolling stock timeline Bo-Bo locomotives Siemens locomotives 25 kV AC locomotives Amtrak locomotives Passenger locomotives Electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 2010 Multi-system locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States SEPTA Regional Rail Passenger trains running at least at 200 km/h in commercial operations