Multi-State Partnership Intends to Award Contract for Next Generation of American Trains

The Midwest Coalition will use its new railcars on the following corridors: Blue Water (Chicago-Port Huron), Wolverine (Chicago-Detroit-Pontiac), Pere Marquette (Chicago-Grand Rapids), Illini/Saluki (Chicago-Carbondale), Lincoln Service (Chicago-St Louis), Missouri River Runner (St Louis-Kansas City), Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg (Chicago-Quincy), and future services between Chicago and Dubuque and Chicago and the Quad Cities, with potential extension to Iowa City.

"The collaborative effort of the states working together on selecting a rail equipment manufacturer is an important step toward saving money for all. We appreciate the leadership that Caltrans has taken toward spearheading this effort," said Timothy Hoeffner, Michigan Department of Transportation, director of the Office of Rail. "Michigan is experiencing unprecedented ridership growth, and when the new equipment arrives, this will improve the travel experience and grow passenger rail service even more."

The first railcars are slated for delivery in the fall of 2015, with the final car expected to be delivered in early 2018.

"Today's announcement moves America one step closer to building a transportation system for the 21st Century," said US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. "These 130 bi-level railcars will revitalize America's passenger rail manufacturing industry base by creating new jobs up and down the rail supply chain and fostering a stronger market for passenger rail. They will improve passenger service and provide more flexibility for train operations, and because multiple states have – for the first time – pooled their resources and settled on a standardized design, this top of the line equipment can be purchased, repaired, and maintained for the lowest possible price."

Funding for the new rail equipment comes from Federal Railroad Administration grants totaling $808 million. Of these funds, $551 million was reserved to purchase the bi-level railcars; the remainder is slated to fund future locomotive and "trainset" procurements as well as to support project management and oversight expenses. California's share ($168 million) of the grants is supplemented by $42 million from Proposition 1B, a transportation bond approved by California voters in 2006.