Siemens Mobility, which has been building trains in Sacramento since the 1980s, is in the running to build the 220-mph train sets for the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has narrowed its shortlist of vendors to build its train sets to two qualified vendors: Alstom Transportation Inc. and Siemens Mobility.
“These world-class vendors ensure that we are procuring the latest generation of high-speed trains,” said authority CEO Brian Kelly, in a news release.
The rail authority wants 10 train sets delivered by the end of 2030, with the first two prototypes to be delivered in 2028 for dynamic testing and trial running. A train set is a locomotive and its associated passenger rail cars.
A request for proposals from the authority is due out in the second quarter this year, with bids due in the third quarter, said authority spokesman Micah Flores, via email.
“These train sets ensure that we are procuring the latest generation of high-speed trains for this first-in-the-nation project,” Kelly said. “We look forward to working with members of the industry as we strive to develop a market for high-speed trains in the United States."
The announcement of the two final bidders comes on the heels of a $3.1 billion federal investment into California’s high-speed rail project, which includes funding for new electric trains.
“With this recent federal grant, we are able to move forward with this major step on the project, purchasing trains capable of speeds of more than 220 mph to move passengers here in California in a way that transforms the passenger rail experience,” Kelly said.
The trains would be tested at speeds up to 242 mph. They would be the fastest trains operating in the U.S., according to the authority.
Siemens Mobility is part of Siemens AG, a technology and manufacturing conglomerate based in Munich. Siemens Mobility has been building light rail and trains in Sacramento since 1984. Its factory has been on French Road since 1992.
Alstom SA is a French multinational manufacturer of trains and rolling stock. Its U.S. subsidiary, Alstom Transportation, is based in New York City. In the U.S., it manufactures rolling stock and components at facilities in Hornell and Plattsburgh in New York, Pittsburgh and West Mifflin in Pennsylvania and Pittsburg in California.
The Sacramento Siemens train factory has been under nearly constant expansion for a decade, and now has a workforce of 2,200 employees who start with sheet metal and other components and produce, assemble and deliver completed locomotives, passenger coaches and light rail vehicles in more than 1 million square feet of factory space.
Siemens spokeswoman Kara Evanko said it was to early to say whether the high-speed train sets would be built in Sacramento.
Siemens Mobility in March last year announced it will build an East Coast rail car manufacturing center in Lexington, North Carolina, investing $220 million in the region between Charlotte and the Triad area.
“On behalf of our more than 2,500 employees in the state of California and our 4,500 across the United States, we congratulate the authority on the progress of this transformational project and are proud to be shortlisted for the California High-Speed Rail train sets,” said Michael Cahill, president of Rolling Stock for Siemens Mobility North America, in a news release.
In the past several years, Siemens has received more than $5 billion in orders for new trains, coaches and light cars. It's built trains for the Sacramento Regional Transit District, Amtrak and Brightline, the private heavy-rail inter-city train service in Florida.
Siemens' Sacramento train factory has delivered more than 3,000 locomotives, passenger coaches and light rail vehicles.
The authority’s bid package also includes maintenance of each train set for 30 years and provisioning for spare parts.
The California High Speed Rail Authority plans to operate between Merced and Bakersfield, with eventual expansion from the Bay Area to Los Angeles and with a spur from Merced to Sacramento.
