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Press Release01 May 2024Siemens MobilityLas Vegas
Brightline West Selects Siemens to Manufacture High Speed Rail Trainsets
Today’s
announcement came after a multi-year competitive procurement process conducted
among multiple global competitors. The selection, which is subject to the
conclusion of definitive agreements, is based on specific criteria that
included price, manufacturing schedule, train performance (e.g. speed and
travel time), ADA compliance, passenger amenities and total passenger capacity.
In addition, the criteria considered future interoperability with the
California High-Speed Rail project. The trains will be built in accordance with
all applicable “Buy America” requirements.
This
selection includes a 30-year rolling stock maintenance contract that will be
performed at Brightline West’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Sloan, NV.
At this site, crews will perform routine daily maintenance, as well as
long-term overhauls and repairs. This will generate high-paying jobs performing
train maintenance activities on a permanent basis.
With the
selection, Siemens will introduce the AP220 trainsets which represent a new
generation of innovative high-speed technology, featuring the latest in
passenger experience, cutting-edge digital technology, and a revolutionary
propulsion system, built specifically for the U.S. market. These trains are an
evolution of the proven Velaro platform, currently operating in Europe. The
AP220 will introduce state-of-the-art technology through an American supply
chain spurring the United States to establish a new industry rivaling countries
that have had high-speed rail for decades. Siemens will establish a new
facility to build the AP220 and will announce the location of America’s first
true high-speed rail production center when the contract is finalized.
“Just as we
redefined train travel with our trainsets for Brightline Florida, we are
excited to pioneer this new frontier of manufacturing and development for
Brightline West,” said Michael Reininger, Brightline’s CEO. “The momentum we
are building, will culminate in new jobs and a new supply chain that will
establish the foundation for a high-speed rail industry from coast to coast.”
“We are
excited to work with Brightline to transform rail in America. The high-speed
chapter of America’s rail story will build on Siemens’ 40 years of designing,
building, testing, delivering and maintaining trains in the United States,”
stated Marc Buncher, Siemens Mobility North America CEO. “On behalf of our
4,500 rail employees across the United States, we are excited to be selected to
build and maintain America’s first true high-speed trains, which will feature
some of the world’s most innovative high-speed rail technology. When they enter
service, it will be one of the most pivotal moments in the history of American
rail.”
The AP 220
will be the first true high-speed train sets to be built in America and are
designed for operational speeds of up to 220 miles per hour. The propulsion
system, lighter weight and aerodynamic shape makes it more efficient than other
high-speed trains. The AP220 features an ultrawide carbody designed for
unparalleled passenger comfort and designed to be the most accessible train on
the market, exceeding ADA requirements and allowing for guests in wheelchairs
to move with ease from car to car. The seven-car trains will carry between
434-450 passengers, depending on final configuration and can make the trip in
less than two hours.
On April
22, 2024, Brightline West celebrated its groundbreaking. The 218-mile system
will be constructed in the median of the I-15 and is based on Brightline’s
vision to connect city pairs that are too short to fly and too far to drive.
The system will have stops in Las Vegas, Nev., as well as Victor Valley,
Hesperia and Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. The $12 billion project was recently
awarded $3 billion in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure
Bill. The rest of the project will be privately funded.
Brightline
partnered with Siemens Mobility to develop the Venture series train sets, which
debuted in 2018 on the company’s Florida system.
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Brightline is the only private provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity passenger rail service in America – offering a guest-first experience designed to reinvent train travel and take cars off the road by connecting city pairs and congested corridors that are too close to fly and too long to drive. Brightline West will connect Las Vegas and Southern California with the first true high-speed passenger rail system in the nation. The 218-mile, all-electric rail service will include a flagship station in Las Vegas, with additional stations in Apple Valley, Hesperia, and Rancho Cucamonga. At speeds up to 200 miles per hour, trains will take passengers from Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in about two hours, twice as fast as the normal drive time. Brightline is currently operating its first passenger rail system connecting Central and South Florida with stations in Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, with future stations coming to Stuart and Cocoa. For more information, visit www.brightlinewest.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.