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The Siemens Charger is a family of diesel-electric passenger locomotives designed and manufactured by Siemens Mobility for the North American market. There are five variants of the Charger, tailored for different operators and types of service: ALC-42 for
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
long-distance service, ALC-42E dual mode for Amtrak
inter-city Inter-city rail services are express passenger train services that run services that connect cities over longer distances than commuter or regional trains. There is no precise definition of inter-city rail; its meaning may vary from country ...
and long-distance routes that serve 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 through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
, SC-44 for Amtrak state-supported inter-city service or commuter rail operators, SCB-40 for Brightline inter-city service and SCV-42 for
VIA Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operati ...
inter-city service. The first production Charger, a SC-44, was unveiled on March 26, 2016, and entered revenue service on August 24, 2017. It was followed by the SCB-40, which inaugurated Brightline service on January 13, 2018. The first ALC-42 was delivered to Amtrak on June 17, 2021 and entered revenue service on February 8, 2022 on the '' Empire Builder''. The Charger is often paired with Venture passenger cars, also built by Siemens, as part of a trainset.


Design

The Charger is powered by a
Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, filtration, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipment, including fuel systems, controls, air ...
16-cylinder QSK95 4-stroke high speed diesel engine, which meets
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...
’s more stringent Tier 4 emissions standards that took effect in 2015. Power output varies by model: the SCB-40 produces , the SC-44 produces , and both the SCV-42 and ALC-42 produce . The maximum speed in service is . The locomotive shares much of its overall design with the Siemens Vectron diesel and electric locomotives used in Europe and the Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotive built for Amtrak. Four
Insulated-gate bipolar transistor An insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a three-terminal power semiconductor device primarily used as an electronic switch, which, as it was developed, came to combine high efficiency and fast switching. It consists of four alternating la ...
(IGBT) power inverters carry electric current to each of the four AC
traction motors A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (electric multiple ...
. A static inverter off of the main prime mover supplies head-end power (HEP). The locomotive also features
dynamic braking Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake gri ...
with regenerative capability, allowing the locomotive to divert power generated by dynamic braking away from the resistor grids to HEP and onboard locomotive auxiliary power demands. In response to a 2013 Request for Information from
Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut ...
, Siemens said they would be capable of producing a dual-mode variant of the Charger with onboard energy storage for use by Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road, as well as intercity service on Amtrak's Empire Corridor. California's SC-44s have aerodynamic " spoilers" on the rear of their roofs that match the height of bi-level
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
and Surfliner cars. The Charger series competes with other Tier 4 compliant locomotives, such as the EMD F125 and the MPI MPXpress MP54AC. However, unlike the Charger series, both the F125 and MP54AC have struggled to find customers, selling fewer than 50 units each.


Service history

The first production SC-44 unit was unveiled on March 26, 2016. The first two Charger locomotives to leave Siemens' factory in Florin, California were transported to the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in
Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 111,876 at the 2020 United States Census, making Pueblo the ninth most popu ...
in June 2016 and underwent testing of performance metrics such as acceleration and braking. The first Brightline SCB-40 locomotives were delivered in December 2016 to undergo testing in Florida. In February 2017, Amtrak and WSDOT began testing one of the Midwest-bound locomotives for federal certification along the ''Cascades'' corridor in the Pacific Northwest. Test runs were conducted on the Midwest and Northern California routes in April and May. Testing at up to at TTCI, on the corridors, and 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 through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...
in September 2016 resulted in a federal certification for operations. Revenue testing on the ''
Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San J ...
'' and ''
San Joaquins The ''San Joaquins'' is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak in California's San Joaquin Valley. Six daily round trips run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, with onward service to Sacramento (all round trips) an ...
'' routes in Northern California began on May 25, 2017. During these tests, the trains operated with a second locomotive in case of failure. The Northern California units were formally accepted and approved for solo service on October 23, 2017. The SC-44 entered revenue testing on the Midwest routes in July 2017, with solo revenue service beginning on a '' Hiawatha Service'' train on August 24, 2017. Revenue service on the ''Cascades'' route began in November 2017. On December 18, 2017, Washington state SC-44 #1402 was wrecked in a derailment of a ''Cascades'' train on the Point Defiance Bypass. Brightline began revenue operations with its SCB-40 locomotives on January 13, 2018. The first Chargers for MARC began testing that month, and revenue service began on April 5, 2018. Pre-revenue testing began on the ''
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from ...
'' in October 2018; revenue service began later that year. The first ALC-42 for Amtrak's long distance trains was put into service on the westbound '' Empire Builder'' on February 8, 2022 after extensive testing in the Midwest and on the ''Empire Builder'' route. Of the 2 units on the inaugural service, one was Amtrak's "Day One" heritage unit #301.


Customers


Altamont Corridor Express

California regional commuter line
Altamont Corridor Express The Altamont Corridor Express (also known as ACE, formerly Altamont Commuter Express) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs ...
ordered four SC-44 locomotives in April 2018, with deliveries beginning in December 2019. They entered revenue service in 2020.


Amtrak


National Network

On December 21, 2018, Amtrak ordered 75 ALC-42 locomotives with options for additional 100. The first locomotive entered service in February 2022 with the last expected by 2024. Compared with the SC-44, changes were made to the ALC-42 to make it more suitable for long-distance service: additional
positive train control Positive train control (PTC) is a family of automatic train protection systems deployed in the United States. Most of the United States' national rail network mileage has a form of PTC. These systems are generally designed to check that trains ...
systems for nationwide service, a larger diesel fuel tank (instead of ), a larger diesel exhaust fluid tank, a larger sand tank, a more powerful 1,000-kilowatt head-end power generator (instead of 600 kw), an extended nose section with remodeled headlights for ease of repair in the event of minor front-end collision, and a prime mover de-rated to to lengthen maintenance intervals. Assembly of the first ALC-42 began in March 2020. On August 5, 2020, Amtrak announced that one of the first six locomotives will be painted in a replica of the "Day 1" livery to commemorate 50 years of Amtrak service, while the other five will feature a preliminary "Phase VI" paint scheme. The remainder of the fleet will introduce a new "Phase VII" livery. By February 2021, 12 units had begun production, with the first locomotive, AMTK 300, delivered to Amtrak on June 17. The first ALC-42 locomotives entered revenue service on the '' Empire Builder'' on February 8, 2022. On the same day, Amtrak announced that they had ordered an additional 50 ALC-42s, bringing the total number of locomotives ordered to 125.


Northeast Corridor

Amtrak plans to purchase at least 65 intercity trainsets with dual-mode ALC-42E locomotives from Siemens. The trainsets will be used primarily on routes that operate over both electrified and non-electrified track, which currently require costly and lengthy locomotive swaps when transitioning between electrified and non-electrified territory. In diesel mode, the ALC-42E will work like a typical diesel–electric locomotive, using its diesel engine to generate electricity for its motors. Each ALC-42E will be paired with a special trailer car that will have equipment to support electric mode on the end closest to the locomotive, and a passenger seating area on the other. There are two types of trailer cars: * An ''Auxiliary Power Vehicle'' (APV) will be used on trains that use track with
overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipm ...
s. Equipped with a pantograph and transformers, the APV will supply electricity to the ALC-42E as well as additional motors on its own powered truck. The ALC-42E/APV pairing will replace Amtrak's existing Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotives on trains that use the Northeast Corridor for part of their route. * A ''battery car'' will be used on trains that access New York Penn Station via the Empire Connection, which has a
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
instead of overhead lines. The battery car will supply electricity to the ALC-42E in areas where diesel engine use is prohibited. The ALC-42E/battery car pairing will replace Amtrak's existing GE Genesis P32AC-DM dual mode locomotives, which draw electricity from the third rail in electric mode.


State-supported corridors

The
Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers fu ...
(IDOT), in conjunction with its counterparts in California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington, purchased 32 SC-44 locomotives for state-supported corridor services, operated by
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
under contract. The $225 million order placed in March 2014 included options for an additional 75 corridor-configured locomotives In 2015, IDOT ordered 12 additional units for use on the upgraded '' Lincoln Service'' corridor. California ordered 14 additional units in November 2015 for use on the ''
Pacific Surfliner The ''Pacific Surfliner'' is a passenger train service serving the communities on the coast of Southern California between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The service carried 2,924,117 passengers during fiscal year 2016, a 3.4% increase from ...
'' beginning in 2018, plus two more units in 2016 for the Northern California services. Washington state ordered an additional unit to replaced the one lost in the 2017 Washinton train derailment and two more in connection with its purchase of new Siemens trainsets. A total of 66 locomotives (32 base and 34 options) were ordered for Amtrak state corridors in this contract: 22 for California, 11 for Washington state, and 33 for the Midwest states. Another 8 options were exercised by MARC, bringing total contract orders to 74.


Brightline

In September 2014, Brightline purchased ten SCB-40 locomotives with options for an additional eleven. The locomotives are used in pairs, bookending four passenger cars (expandable to seven) on Brightline's Miami–
West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
service. The SCB-40s have a streamlined front end that conceals the front coupler behind a removable nose cone and produce a maximum of instead of the on the SC-44. Brightline later ordered five additional trainsets and one extra locomotive (eleven locomotives total) for use on the extension to Orlando, with delivery between September 2021 and 2023.


Coaster

In June 2018, the North County Transit District Board of Directors approved the purchase of five SC-44s for its San Diego-area Coaster commuter rail service, replacing five older F40PH locomotives. Deliveries began in August 2020 and are expected to conclude in the spring of 2021. Two additional units were approved in June 2019, and another two in September. These additional locomotives will replace two existing F59PHI locomotives and allow increased service levels. The first five locomotives entered revenue service on February 8, 2021.


Exo

In January 2022, Montreal's Exo ordered 10 Siemens Chargers to update the fleet. They are planned to replace the aging
F59PH The EMD F59PH is a four-axle B-B diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division from 1988 to 1994. A variant, the F59PHI, was produced from 1994 to 2001. The F59PH was originally built for GO Transit commuter opera ...
locomotives.


MARC

MARC announced in August 2015 that it was seeking $58 million to purchase eight locomotives to replace their aging electric powered
AEM-7 The EMD AEM-7 is a twin-cab four-axle B-B electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The locomotive is a derivative of the Swedish SJ Rc4 designed for passenger service in the United States. The ...
units, with deliveries planned for late 2017. The purchase was approved by the Maryland Board of Public Works on September 16, 2015. The MARC order uses part of the Amtrak state-corridor options. The first MARC Charger was shipped from the Siemens factory in early December 2017, and began testing in mid-January 2018.


Metro-North Railroad (New York)

In December 2020, New York's
Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in t ...
approved a
Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administratio ...
-funded $335 million contract for 27 dual-mode locomotives based on the Charger design. The new locomotives will replace the 27 existing GE Genesis locomotives used on the
Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut ...
's Hudson Line,
Harlem Line The Metro-North Railroad Harlem Line, originally chartered as the New York and Harlem Railroad, is an commuter rail line running north from New York City to Wassaic, in eastern Dutchess County. The lower from Grand Central Terminal to Southe ...
, and Danbury Branch; they will use
third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...
electric power to enter
Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern termi ...
. The first 19 locomotives are scheduled to be completed in mid-2026. The contract has options for 144 additional locomotives: 32 for Metro-North, 66 for the Long Island Rail Road, 20 for the New York State Department of Transportation (for Amtrak '' Empire Service'' trains), and 25 for the
Connecticut Department of Transportation The Connecticut Department of Transportation (often referred to as CTDOT and occasionally ConnDOT, or CDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports and waterways in Connecticut.
.


Ontario Northland

In December 2022, the
Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor ...
and Ontario Northland announced a investment to reinstate the ''
Northlander The ''Northlander'' was a passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Ontario, Canada. The ''Northlander'' operated six days per week year-round in both directions and connected Cochrane with Toronto. The train typically consi ...
'' passenger service between
Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ex ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
. The government news release mentioned that the three new trainsets will be built by Siemens Mobility and paired wih Charger locomotives that will meet the latest EPA Tier 4 diesel emission standards.


Via Rail

In December 2018,
Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operati ...
ordered 32 bi-directional trainsets each powered by one SC-44 locomotive for use on the Québec City–Windsor Corridor. The first of VIA Rail's trainsets were delivered on September 29, 2021 to VIA Rail in Montreal, crossing into Canada via Sarnia, Ontario. When the locomotives' final paint scheme was unveiled by VIA Rail in May 2021, the locomotive was designated as an SC-44, but when delivered the locomotives' designation had been changed to SCV-42.


See also

* EMD F125 – competing Tier 4 passenger locomotive * MPI MPXpress MP54AC – competing Tier 4 passenger locomotive


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


''Raw Footage of Siemens Charger SC-44 4601 Cummins QSK95 Testing''
(YouTube) {{Green Locos Siemens locomotives Bo-Bo locomotives Passenger locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 2014 EPA Tier 4-compliant locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Diesel-electric locomotives of Canada