Amtrak has just sent off the latest group of its new Airo trainsets for months of testing before being deployed on its busy Pacific Northwest route.
The Airo trainsets that departed on Monday are the sixth new trainsets that departed a manufacturing plant in Sacramento, California, to head east to Colorado, where they will undergo testing before making their debut in 2027.
In May, Amtrak shipped off several of its new trainsets to a facility in Pueblo, Colorado for testing before being delivered for revenue service on the Northeast Corridor.
Unlike the May arrivals, Monday’s shipment of Airo trainsets will debut on the other side of the country in the Pacific Northwest on the Amtrak Cascades route.
The 460-mile Cascades route travels as far north as Vancouver, Canada, with a southern terminus in Eugene, Oregon. The route features 18 total stops, including Portland and Salem, Oregon and Seattle and Tacoma, Washington.
Amtrak has invested millions to replace many of its aging trains with these new Airo trainsets, which are built and assembled in Sacramento by German manufacturing conglomerate Siemens, a frequent partner of Amtrak and a major presence in the American railroad industry.
In total, Amtrak has ordered 83 Airo trainsets, with expectations for service within the Northeast Corridor and Pacific Northwest by next year.
Amtrak shared video Monday afternoon of the completed Airo trainsets departing the Siemens facility in northern California. The nation’s railroad says this latest group represents the halfway point of its total order.
“Each trainset brings us closer to an elevated travel experience on the Amtrak Cascades route,” Amtrak wrote in the announcement. “On to the next one.”
What to expect from Amtrak Airo trains
Built on Siemens’ Ventura platform, the Airo trains offer modern upgrades to the train interiors, improved accessibility, and enhanced comfort for a “more consistent travel experience.”
The trains boast panoramic windows for better viewing experience, spacious seats that “prioritize ergonomics” with increased legroom and sturdier tray tables, individual power outlets and USB ports, enhanced 5G enabled Wi-Fi and upgraded food service on each train’s cafe car.
They are also capable of reaching speeds of up to 125 miles per hour, although don’t expect them to reach those speeds very often.
In addition to the Northeast Corridor and the Amtrak Cascades route, Airo trains will be found along other high-traffic routes, including its Empire and Keystone services.
The Amtrak Airo trains are just one component of a major upgrading and modernization effort that Amtrak has in the works.
In April, Amtrak announced plans to order 800 new railcars across its 14 long-distance routes. In May, Amtrak celebrated a major milestone involving the Acela, its fastest trains currently in service, which have already logged more than 1 million riders in under one year of service.
In late May, senior Amtrak officials participated in a conversation about ongoing upgrade projects, and said the initiatives have had wide-reaching impact.
“We have over 360 projects, and that alone is creating over $200 billion of investment into the U.S. economy,” said Kuvesh Ayer, Amtrak’s Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. “We also have investment across the board, starting with new fleet infrastructure, upgrading our stations as well as our bridges and tunnels.”
Ayer said approximately 46,000 jobs are being created “just in the rail sector alone.”
In addition to new trainsets across Amtrak’s fleet, additional major projects include restoration of the William H. Gray 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, modernization work on the New York East River Tunnel, and replacing the Connecticut River Bridge on the Northeast Corridor.
Amtrak’s Senior Director of Government Affairs Mariah Morales said the agency is aware of growing interest in upgraded service, and said Amtrak was working to get upgrades completed as fast as reasonably possible.
“These folks want to get on the train, and they want to get out of their cars and get off the plane, and we are trying to get equipment and service as fast as we can,” Morales said.
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