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The Chargers are 4400 horse power and I believe the ACSs are 6000 horse power.

Isn't the dimensions of the Amtrak Roomette equivalent to that of a Section, which was the same size as a Pullman Roomette? Why would Via want to convert a space designed for 1 person into a space for 2 people when they already have Sections and Double Bedrooms to fit that role and do it more...

Yes Siemens has a dual mode engine that it could probably modify for work in the US. I am not sure how many they would need for service along the NEC and run off the NEC...

From what I understand, they were made in a tube shape to seem more like planes. Whatever is the new technology of any given decade usually influences what other transit modes look like. In the 1960s and 70s, that was planes. The narrow windows were down to people throwing rocks and them not...

My guess is the new Metra cars may have been designed after the regulation change which would mean alternates to the Buff Strength Test could have been used. Which wasn't an option 10 years ago. I am just speculating this, the other option is they have found a way to make the cars compliant with...

My guess would be the clock being rolled back to 2014 as far as Amtrak is concerned considering that was what was promised on the campaign trail. I’m fairly certain the following will happen 1) More money for NEC infrastructure. 2) RFP for Superliner Replacement. 3) Maybe funding for the...

I doubt the Capitol Limited will go Viewliner anytime soon, the Capitol Limited sells its space well enough (pre COVID) that if anything, running a second section of the train would make sense rather than cutting capacity by converting to Viewliners. Not to mention, the Amfleet 1 replacements...

I doubt Congress would allow Amtrak do do that considering their stance towards Amtrak has been stasis + a gimmick. I would expect a 1 to 1 replacement plus some amount of cars for slack capacity. Amtrak’s leadership might have an unfriendly opinion towards the long distance trains, but Congress...

A European Bilevel is a US Multilevel which means a OBB's "bilevel" sleepers are more like NJT's Multilevels than they are like Superliners. The problem with using Multilevels as sleeping cars in the US is that you will need to go up and down two flights of stairs per car you travel through to...

Even if Amtrak announces they have selected Siemens for the Amfleet replacement sometime in the next 6 months, there is still going to be a final design phase to determine where exactly the seats and everything else is going to be. Which would mean a final design for the Amfleet replacement...

Bilevels are still worth having because of the capacity alone. The capacity of a Superliner is 45 compared to a Viewliner's 30. Add in a lot of stations don't have long enough platforms for the trains to get longer. The engines at my local station regularly sit in the crossing while the train is...

I personally would buy travel insurance when going outside the US on the off chance I have medical issues while outside the US. I sure did when I was in Poland. I didn't expect anything to happen, but you never know when you are going to get hit by a car or something. I nearly got run over by a...

The width of the seats on Amtrak is 23 inches, so for 2 seats, the width is 46 inches on one side of the train. The width of a Roomette is 42 inches, I am not sure if that width includes the walls are not. If it doesn't, I'd imagine they would add at least 2 inches on each side. Which means that...

Possible in a theoretical sense, yes. In a practical sense, no. The aisles are approximately 36 inches in width and the average wheelchairs fall between 30 and 34 inches which leaves a small margin of error to get them through the halls. The other problem is getting them around corners which...

Dealing with the H Room on any train and getting food brought to it can be solved at the corporate level. If you are in it, it should be pretty obvious that you will need extra help and room service would be part of that. This is one of the times where having more competent leadership would make...

A Superliner would be easier to add ADA rooms to a Superliner since if the whole upper level consists of Bedrooms instead of Roomettes, the lower level probably could be converted to all ADA rooms, but that doesn't take away from each car needing at least 1 ADA spot. An all Roomette/Section...

Adding an elevator won't solve the problem of overused and undermaintained plumbing. The Superliner cars are running on plumbing and climate controls that are all years passed their expected life span and that's before maintenance is factored in. And cramming more people into a multilevel car...

ADA really isn't a thing outside of the US. Access to things like trains, hotels and what not really is a crap shoot in Europe. From personal experience, the trains in Poland are weird. All their high level platforms seem to be built to the same height across the country, but all of the...

Siemens designs its equipment to be shells that the buyer can customize them in whatever way they want, within reason. The structure of the car doesn't change just because the interior arrangement does. What would be different would be if Amtrak wanted more single level sleepers or a Superliner...

Sacrificing a couple of rooms for an elevator and just adding extra cars may or may not be a good idea. If the aisles can't be made wide enough for someone in a wheel chair to travel around the train, having the elevator would be a waste of space since that would be the only place they could go...