Acela 21 (Avelia Liberty) development, testing and deployment (2018 - 1Q 2024)

[railiner]

Amtrak actually released a slew of images on their Media Relations website; you can view them here: https://media.amtrak.com/media-images/new-acela-fleet-underway-at-alstom-facility-in-hornell-ny/

peter

Oh...I must have missed those. Thanks for the link.
Those cars certainly look "foreign" to my eyes, used to Amfleet, Horizon, and Superliner, et al.....
They also appear to be shorter and narrower, unless it is just an optical illusion.
And, are those tray tables attached directly to the seat backs in front of them? Don't think that would work too well, unless the seats are non-recliners...

 

[jis]

How often is it that we see released images of a product before it's delivered from the railroad it's going to? That's the only reason.

Amtrak did that with the first round of Acelas too AFAIR. NJT did that with the MLVs. So it has happened in the past, though not for every new product

Oh...I must have missed those. Thanks for the link.
Those cars certainly look "foreign" to my eyes, used to Amfleet, Horizon, and Superliner, et al.....
They also appear to be shorter and narrower, unless it is just an optical illusion.
And, are those tray tables attached directly to the seat backs in front of them? Don't think that would work too well, unless the seats are non-recliners...

Shorter but not narrower. Remember, they also ride on articulated Jacobs Trucks shared by adjacent cars, except for the end cars, which have a standard truck at the extreme end. So it is important to reduce how far the center of the car sticks inward on sharp curves, since the pivot center is at the very end of the car and not at the quarter point or thereabouts.

There should be no problem with the trays since those seat backs do not move. The seats are like those on Brightline and other Siemens Viaggio derived cars. The base slides forward to recline. The frame of the seat is fixed. The back cushion tilts as the base slides forward, so reclining the seat does not occupy any space normally available to the person in the seat behind, and hence also the position of the tray. This is standard practice in new seat design for trains apparently.

 

[railiner]

Maybe that system of recline is okay for a 'day coach', but I don't think it would be very comfortable for a long-distance coach...your knees move closer to the seatback in front of you if you recline...would make it hard to stretch your legs out, unless there was "lie-flat" seat pitch....

 

[jis]

Maybe that system of recline is okay for a 'day coach', but I don't think it would be very comfortable for a long-distance coach...your knees move closer to the seatback in front of you if you recline...would make it hard to stretch your legs out, unless there was "lie-flat" seat pitch....

Brightline and Acela 21s are all daytime operations.

For night coach I would definitely recommend much larger pitch than is used either on Acelas or on Brightline, and that should remove the problem of knees getting close to the seat in front. It is quite possible to design these sorts of seats with adequate pitch to allow for stretching out legs comfortable, Just because the back does not move does not mean it has to go all the way down to the floor. There can be adequate gap underneath the seat to stretch ones legs out too. You don't have to go all the way to lie-flat to be able to stretch legs out. Remember those notorious angled flats in airline business class, not that I am suggesting such. But even those can be constructed using a fixed seat frame profile.

 

[railiner]

I still don’t like that type of recline. I have sat in some luxury autos rear seats that offer it(the only practical way they can), and find them very uncomfortable.

Give me my good ol’ LaZboy...

 

[jis]

I still don’t like that type of recline. I have sat in some luxury autos rear seats that offer it(the only practical way they can), and find them very uncomfortable.

Give me my good ol’ LaZboy...

So you don’t like the recline on the lie flat seats either then, except in the flat position?

 

[railiner]

So you don’t like the recline on the lie flat seats either then, except in the flat position?

If they provide adequate room for me to stretch my legs out when semi-reclined, fine. Otherwise, no...

 

[Acela150]

As mentioned on a different forum per the NGEC November report.

As of 10/31/19 TS 1 has power cars on both ends. TS 2 is being worked on for NEC testing.

Tilt testing completed.

 

[Acela150]

Thanks to @jis for the article.

https://www.eveningtribune.com/news...s-permit-for-cross-country-trip-to-test-track

 

[west point]

Why the delay for a permit ? Is it because that the equipment has not been inspected? Since when is a FRA permit needed to have a non revenue ferry trip ?

 

[Thirdrail7]

Since when is a FRA permit needed to have a non revenue ferry trip ?

When you're moving a non-compliant piece of equipment, you've always needed a "permit" aka a waiver.

 

[Acela150]

A P42 and VL Diner were spotted enroute to Hornell today.

 

[Acela150]

Video.

https://www.rochesterfirst.com/kuck...0_eHsGfOsVRKrDKiwQKehOPQgLACuEYqe6h5evJGtQTGs

 

[sttom]

Completed on schedule? Nah. Alstom says they're already 89 days behind. In the end, I'm betting that the Sunnyside Yard item entangled with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the one Least Likely To Succeed. YMMV

89 days is nothing compared to the California cars we're never going to get unless there is a 4th order sans federal funding.

 

[CraigDK]

https://media.amtrak.com/media-images/new-acela-fleet-on-the-move/

More video.

 

[Ziv]

The power cars look great even with the missing panels. The paint scheme on the cars, not so much. Can't wait to see them in the wild.

 

[frequentflyer]

The power cars look great even with the missing panels. The paint scheme on the cars, not so much. Can't wait to see them in the wild.

Not feeling the livery either, though it looks very European to me. We will get use to it.

 

[Ziv]

Exactly, FrequentFlyer. I was thinking they reminded me of rail cars from the 1990's in Poland or Slovakia. As you said, we will get used to it in time. Especially given how good the interiors are going to look.

 

[jis]

Permission obtained from FRA the prototype is headed to Pueblo soon.

https://www.eveningtribune.com/news...-of-high-speed-train-from-hornell-to-colorado

 

[Anderson]

It reminds me a lot of an early version of the Eurostar.

 

[jis]

It reminds me a lot of an early version of the Eurostar.

The nose is different though, and it is about half the length of the Eurostar.

 

[Anderson]

I know the length is off. I was thinking general profile, car shape/size, and color pattern (obviously using blue instead of yellow).

 

[Thirdrail7]

I hope they come up with a decent Phase for this thing because it is pretty funny looking.

 

[Anderson]

I hope they come up with a decent Phase for this thing because it is pretty funny looking.

Well, Amtrak sure is going through a phase these days...

 

[Thirdrail7]

Please tell me they have traps.