The production line is not quite open. The car bodies have all been built. Ever single one is done. Only the interior and mechanical systems are being worked on. Which is a big part of the equipment, but the container is also a big part of the process. The car bodies were a major source of delay due to lack of qualified welders.
So can CAF build more? Sure but its not going to be easy.
You're right, of course. The entire supplier network could need refreshing.
I was thinking about the human part of the production. We don't officially know what were the problems, but the informed speculation centers on a workforce that had to be taught the basic skills to do the job. God forbid to let the workforce dissipate if there's any real possibility of building more new Viewliners.
And maybe Amtrak doesn't need and couldn't use any more V-2s of whatever type. If there are no restored trains, no more frequencies on existing routes, no growth at all in Long Distance, then not to bother.
What is the expectation on utilization of the V-2 sleepers? One more sleeper on every Eastern single-level train -- Meteor, Star, Crescent, Cardinal, and Lake Shore. Maybe one or two on the night train BOS-Newport News? A couple more if the Crescent splits to Dallas? Any chance of adding still another sleeper to any of the trains getting one more under the plan? I think it's said the Lake Shore is already long and couldn't easily fit another sleeper. But could the others grow?
Meanwhile I'm still thinking that Amtrak may come up short of funds for fleet replacement. Congress could say, "Bi-level or single-level, pick one, and we'll get around to the other one in the sweet bye-and-bye." In that case, Amtrak could try to switch the Capitol Ltd and maybe the City of New Orleans to single-level equipment, and rotate their Superliners out West. Wouldn't they require another 25 or so V-2 sleepers?
And that's not counting any serious expansion, like Philly Fan's "Broadway Ltd" NYC-Philly-PGH-CLE (daylight)-CHI. Right now, no expansion would get by the haters in Congress. But the current political line-up seems increasingly volatile. One can imagine an electoral explosion that could change the majorities on every issue in D.C., including growing or shrinking Amtrak. In the aftermath of such an explosion, routes like a "Broadway Ltd" could find new champions in Congress the way Sen Byrd protected the Cardinal back in the day.
