I think we don’t know enough about the capitol - star combination and its duration to really speculate on that. We also don’t know yet what Amtrak is going to do for single level equipment. A decision about the Viewliner Is is the big factor in how they will go. They do have an option that they can exercise with Siemens to replace the Amfleet IIs if they decide to stick with the Viewliners going forward. In Amtrak’s 5 year plan document the decision about the Viewliners will primarily drive whether they do a new single level procurement or an option.
I believe STV will offer Amtrak needed guidance in choosing the best bid. I hope that they are impartial to manufacturers, though Amtrak OIG is also watching this procurement very closely and should ensure that nobody plays favorites. Siemens, Alstom, CAF, Stadler, Hitachi, and Kawasaki are all great manufacturers who will offer Amtrak amazing value on these LD cars.
Standler I doubt will happen due to them, not making stuff with stainless steel .
Stadler made stainless steel bilevels for Rocky Mountaineer. I also have a pretty strong hunch that we will hear about an existing stainless steel product being brought to the US market VERY soon.
The date was extended to November because no vendor placed a bid, and from what I hear, said in no uncertain terms that what Amtrak wants cannot be delivered for the price they are willing to pay in the timeframe that they insist on. So it is a bit more complicated than just a slippage of a date. It is possible that the vendors have now had ample experience learning of the Amtrak/FRA etc. quagmire, and are no longer willing to risk their own resources in it. Given the amount of trouble that they have had trying to deliver allegedly off the shelf stuff to Amtrak, I would understand why they are leery of doing something that is clearly not off the shelf at all.
That article appears to be commentary on the FOIA document that has been discussed here extensively. It is a review of that document by someone, and at least has more complete illustrations than the original FOIA document had, though an updated one with full diagrams was posted in this thread later. The FOIA that is the basis for all this was filed by one of our members.
Many agree with you, but many others want Amtrak to continue having bilevel cars outside the routes to and from NYC. Since it's been years since Superliners were ordered and Amtrak is under pressure (legal requirement?) to improve accessibility for the disabled, a bilevel with "somewhat of a proven track record" is unlikely.
