Amtrak has issued a formal request for proposals for more than 800 new long-distance passenger railcars, marking the start of its largest long-distance fleet replacement programme.
The order will cover rolling stock for 14 overnight and cross-country routes. The programme was developed in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration and targets vehicles that in many cases have been in service for nearly 50 years.
Under the replacement strategy, all long-distance services will transition to a standardised single-level fleet, replacing the current mix of single-level and bi-level cars. Amtrak states the approach is intended to standardise equipment across routes and broaden competition among potential carbuilders.
The long-distance order forms part of Amtrak’s wider fleet renewal programme. The operator has received 79 of 125 Siemens ALC-42 locomotives for long-distance services. New Acela high-speed trainsets entered service last year on the Northeast Corridor, and the Airo fleet is scheduled to begin operations on the Amtrak Cascades route in 2026 before deployment on other state-supported corridors.
