After three decades of hard work, Amtrak trains in the Northeast Corridor and Pennsylvania get to retire. They will be replaced by 70 high-efficiency electric Amtrak Cities Sprinters (ACS-64) built by Siemens in Sacramento, California. The ACS-64 units are based on the company’s EuroSprinter, and the trains will take over for the Electro-Motive diesel locomotives made back in 1978 and 1988.

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Post tags: acs-64, amtrak, amtrak cities sprinter, boston, California, electric, electro-motive diesel, eurosprinter, harrisburg, joseph boardman, keystone corridor, northeast corridor, pennsylvania, philadelphia, rail, Sacramento, washington d.c.

Municipalities from New York to Maine are preparing for what some experts say might be a historic storm that could dump record levels of snow in some places. The New York Times reports that as many as 2,200 flights across the region have been cancelled to prepare for the storm. The storm could hit hardest on Friday night when the arctic jet stream is expected to meet with the polar jet stream somewhere between New Jersey and Nantucket, according to Tim Morrin, who is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

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Post tags: amtrak, blizzard, boston, coastal flooding, flight cancellations, great lakes, historic snowstorm, Maine, MBTA, national weather service, NE, New England, News, Northeast storm, NYC, Penn Station, record snowfall, storm preparation, storm watch

Amtrak and the California High-Speed Rail Authority have teamed up to design new high-speed trains that will operate on both the East and West Coasts. A high-speed line connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles will be the first segment of the project and is scheduled to open in 2022. The new trains will modify the existing Acela models—which serve the East Coast Corridor—to run at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.

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Post tags: american public transportation, amtrak, california high speed rail, California rail, fast trains, high speed rail, high speed train design, high speed trains, train design, US high-speed rail service

Japan’s JR Central Railway Company just unveiled a prototype of its new floating maglev train, which is capable of traveling at speeds over 310mph! Due to go into service in 2027, the train will be first implemented on a route between Tokyo and Nagoya, where it will cover the 160 mile distance in around 40 minutes—cutting the current travel time by more than half. The Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai) plans to expand the route to serve Osaka by 2045 at a total cost of around $102 billion.

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Post tags: amtrak, bullet train, high speed rail, high speed train, japan train, JR Tokai, levitating trains, maglev train, magnetic levitation, mass transit, rail travel, tokyo rail

Amtrak passengers between St. Louis and Chicago will be treated to new highs in the world of train travel. Just last week, Amtrak announced that it is revving up its high speed rail service between the two cities, which will top out at 110 mph. Sure, it’s no 350+ mph MagLev super train, but it will reduce travel time by up to an hour. Regular high speed rail service on the Lincoln line is the first step towards establishing a high-speed rail network in Illinois.

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Post tags: amtrak, chicago, green transportation, high speed rail, high speed rail line, high speed rail network, HSR, lincoln line, st. louis

Read the rest of Amtrak Announces Ambitious Eco-Plans for HOK-Designed Overhaul of Washington D.C.’s Union Station

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", amtrak, d.c. union station, Daylighting, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green renovation, green roof, green transportation, high speed rail, high speed rail station, high speed trains, HOK, parsons brinkerhoff, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, train shed, train station, train station renovation, trains, union station, washington d.c., washington d.c. union station, Washington DC

President Obama’s goal of building a high-speed rail network that at least 80 percent of Americans will have access to by 2025, is facing major resistance in Congress. Earlier this week, Vice President Joe Biden announced a $53 billion, six year plan to get the U.S. high-speed rail network going with $8 billion over the next year spent towards building new lines and upgrading existing passenger lines in areas such as the northeast and midwest. Unfortunately, Republicans are having none of it. The House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R., Ky.) unveiled a partial list of 70 proposed cuts, including eliminating $1 billion for high-speed rail.

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Amtrak recently unveiled their latest plans for a new high-speed rail corridor in the Northeast US that will connect Boston, New York, Philadelphia and DC. High-speed trains will travel up to 220 mph and make the 426 mile trip in less than 3 1/2 hours, compared to the current run time of 8 hours on the regional and 6.5 on Acela trains. Amtrak’s plan is expected to cost over $117 billion, and it won’t be realized until 2040 – over 30 years away! It’s clear that we need this high-speed rail corridor, but is there any way they could speed things up?!

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The nation’s first commuter train using a cleaner renewable biodiesel fuel blend launched yesterday as Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer chugged from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Fort Worth, Texas on a blend of diesel and a beef byproduct. The fuel is a B20 blend — 20% biofuel and 80% diesel — and the Heartland Flyer will be conducting a 12-month study on the effects of the fuel on the train’s emissions, mechanics and performance. Officials are hoping the ride will prove just as enjoyable for passenger’s while saving Amtrak fuel costs and the environment some harmful emissions.

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Post tags: amtrak, biofuel, clean fuel, cow poop, fuel, manuer, Poo Power!, public transportation, train travel

The model train is officially hip and eco-friendly. No, really! Leaving the realm of your Dad’s garage behind, one geek-ily cute metropolis has found a home at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers. The display, called “Golden Gate Express,” features miniature replicas of several major San Francisco landmarks. And the entire set is stunningly fabricated by Figureplant out of recycled materials.

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Post tags: amtrak, conservatory of flowers, figureplant, recycled art, San Francisco