Siemens ACS-64
| Siemens ACS-64 Amtrak Cities Sprinter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| File:ACS64FinalRenderInk201108.png Artist's rendering of the ACS-64 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sources: [4][5], except where noted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Amtrak Cities Sprinter, or ACS-64, is an electric locomotive designed by Siemens Mobility for Amtrak.
Order
In October 2010, Amtrak ordered 70 locomotives at a cost of $466 Million, to be delivered from February 2013 onwards;[7] in order to comply with "Buy American" laws, the locomotives will be manufactured at Siemens' factory in Sacramento, California (Florin) with traction and electrical equipment being manufactured at Siemens facilities in Norcross and Alpharetta, Georgia.[4]
The locomotives are to operate on the Northeast Corridor and the Keystone Corridor and replace the railroad's fleet of AEM-7 and HHP-8 locomotives.[8] Initially, the 20 EMD AEM-7DC units with direct current traction motors would be replaced, followed by the rebuilt 29 AEM-7ACs with alternate current propulsion, and lastly by the 15 HHP-8 units.[8] The extra ACS-64s would be for expansion.[8] The order came as part of Amtrak's company-wide fleet-replacement program, and was the second part of the plan, after an order for 130 Viewliner II passenger cars was placed in July 2010.[9]
On 30 June 2011, US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that Amtrak had received a US$562.9 million loan from the government's Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program to finance the order for the new locomotives.[10]
Design
The design is based on the EuroSprinter and the Vectron platforms,[11], the body is a monocoque structure with integral frames and sidewalls.[1] Significant structural changes to the design were made to comply with USA crash regulations (American Crash Standard AAR-580) including crumple zones, structural strengthening of the cab, and anti-climbing features; resulting in a heavier locomotive than european Eurosprinter/Vectron models.[1][4]
They will be able to operate off of 25 kV, 12.5 kV, and 12 kV power supplies, and have a total power of 6.4 megawatts (8,600 hp).[11] The locomotives are designed to be capable of accelerating 18 car Amfleet trains to maximum speeds as high as 125 mph (201 km/h) on the Northeast Corridor in a little over eight minutes.[12] They have advanced safety systems, including specialized couplers designed to keep trains from rolling over, jacknifing, and derailing during a collision.[9] Additionally, the new locomotives will be more energy-efficient than those that they replace, and will lack dynamic braking grids to favor 100% regenerative braking, depending on grid receptiveness. Energy generated from the brake will also be utilized to meet HEP needs, further reducing current draw from the grid.[9]
The locomotive has two electrical converter units per loco, with three IGBT based, water cooled output inverters per converter unit. Two of the inverters power a bogies traction motors, the third unit supplies head-end and auxiliary power.[1] The HEP/Auxillairy inverters are dual redundant identical (rated 1000 kW), allowing the locomotive to remain in service should one inverter fail en route.[13] The locomotive bogies are fabricated steel designs, with low-lying traction links, and centre pivot pin. The traction motors are frame mounted, with torque transmitted via a hollow shaft drive. Locomotive braking is by disc brake.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "A new face in the Northeast Corridor: locomotive borrowing heavily from the proven Eurosprinter and more recent Vectron designs, Siemens Mobility is adapting European electric locomotive technology to produce the ACS64 'Amtrak Cities Sprinter' for North America's busiest inter-city passenger route", Railway Gazette International, 1 Sep 2011
- ^ a b c "Highspeed Passenger Locomotive Amtrak Cities Sprinter ACS64". Siemens Mobility. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
- ^ "DOT Announces $562.9 Million AMTRAK Loan for 70 Locomotives to Run on Northeast Corridor", www.dot.gov, =United States Department of Transportation, 29 Jun 2011
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ a b c d "Amtrak orders Siemens 200 km/h Cities Sprinter locomotives", www.railwaygazette.com, Railway Gazette International, 29 October 2010, retrieved 2010-10-30
- ^ Railway Age, June 2011, pp.30-32
- ^ "Siemens AG bags $466-mn order from US railroad company Amtrak news", www.domain-b.com, 29 Oct 2010
{{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Press release, Amtrak, 29 Oct 2010
- ^ a b c "Amtrak contracts Siemens to supply 70 electric locomotives". Progressive Railroading. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ a b c "Amtrak orders 70 new electric locomotives from Siemens". Trains Magazine. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
- ^ "Amtrak receives $562.9m loan to purchase 70 locomotives for Northeast Corridor". Rail.co. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ a b "Siemens breaks into the U.S. long-distance passenger rail market". www.infrasite.net. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
- ^ Railway Age, June 2011, pp.30-31
- ^ Railway Age, June 2011, p.32
Sources
- Michael Latour (June 2011), "Amtrak ACS-64: Speed, power, efficiency", Railway Age
- Press releases
- "Siemens breaks into the U.S. long-distance passenger rail market". www.siemens.com (Press release). Siemens. 29 October 2010.
- "AMTRAK AWARDS $466 MILLION CONTRACT FOR 70 NEW ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES" (PDF), www.amtrak.com, Amtrak, 29 Oct 2010 , alternative link via www.prnewswire.com
