March 29, 2024
Brightline

The first completed Brightline trainset is expected to leave Sacramento and be delivered to Brightline at its West Palm Beach maintenance facility later this year.

Brightline

Inside a Brightline locomotive

Brightline

Brightline will be powered by a Cummins diesel-electric engine. The first trainsets are being tested on a quarter mile long track at the Siemens manufacturing facility in Sacramento, California.

Press Release

Brightline's first locomotive completes initial testing

Brightline is an express inter-city train service being developed by All Aboard Florida. It will connect Southeast Florida in record time.

| 9/15/2016

Sacramento, Calif. The first Brightline locomotive successfully completed initial track testing and moved for the first time powered by its Cummins diesel-electric engine on a quarter mile long track at the Siemens manufacturing facility in Sacramento, California. This signifies another major milestone for the production of Brightline’s trains as the company has now approved production for all locomotives currently being built by Siemens. (To see a video of the locomotive moving for the first time, scroll down on this page, or click here.)

“The operation of the locomotive and its passing of the initial track testing has demonstrated Siemens’ engineering expertise and given us a high degree of confidence that the Brightline service will be exceptionally reliable,” said Gene Skoropowski, senior vice president of railroad operations for Brightline. “Brightline will be the only passenger rail service in the country to have such dynamic and modern trains that will offer Americans a new and modern experience in train travel.”

In addition to running the diesel engine for the first time, approximately 45 areas were tested on the Brightline locomotive. These included: functional tests of the air and braking systems; software installation for all systems; locomotive doors; fire detection systems; audible warning devices; communication systems; interior and exterior lighting; as well as empty and fully loaded weight verification. The static and dynamic testing of the locomotive was done over a three-week period.

“Testing the advanced technology locomotives for Brightline is an extremely important milestone in our production process and helps ensure these trainsets are ready to provide safe and reliable service for future riders,” said Michael Cahill, president of Siemens Rolling Stock.  “The successful on-site testing in Sacramento is truly a testament to the highly-skilled work being done by our engineers and plant employees that have worked tirelessly to design and manufacture these trainsets.”

Brightline’s trains are built as integrated trainsets, comprised of two locomotives and four high quality stainless steel passenger cars. The integration improves ride quality and makes for a much quieter ride. There will be a bright yellow locomotive on each end, for high reliability and redundancy. The locomotives will also feature an ergonomic cab design for the train’s engineers.

The trains are being built by nearly 1,000 employees at Siemens 60-acre rail manufacturing hub. Siemens has also developed a robust and diverse base of U.S. rail suppliers to support the next-generation of rail manufacturing for Brightlineincluding components from more than 40 suppliers across 20+ states with additional suppliers still being added. The company will also be providing maintenance for the Brightline trains when they are in operation in Florida, supporting full-time employment for approximately 70 Siemens and 40 Brightline employees.

The first completed trainset is expected to leave Sacramento and be delivered to Brightline at its West Palm Beach maintenance facility later this year. Brightline is scheduled to begin express inter-city service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in mid-2017.

About Brightline

Brightline will redefine what it means to travel by train in America with express intercity passenger rail service arriving 2017, providing an important transportation alternative to connect Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando. The service will ease the stress of traffic, provide a simple and intuitive experience from door to destination, and foster new opportunities to explore more of Southeast Florida.Brightline is the only privately owned, operated and maintained passenger rail system in the United States. For more information, visit www.gobrightline.com or follow on Facebook.

About Siemens

Siemens Rolling Stock business unit is part of the Siemens Mobility Division which provides efficient and integrated transportation of people and goods by rail and road – including all products, solutions and services regarding mobility. Siemens designs and manufactures across the entire spectrum of rolling stock including commuter and regional passenger trains, light rail and streetcars, metros, locomotives, passenger coaches and high-speed trainsets. In the U.S., Siemens is providing rail vehicles, locomotives, components and systems to more than 25 agencies in cities such as Washington D.C., New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Denver, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, Houston, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, St. Louis, Atlanta and Charlotte. Cities also rely on Siemens to provide traction-power substations and electricity transmission, as well as signaling and control technology for freight and passenger rail and transit systems.  Siemens has transportation manufacturing hubs in: Sacramento, CA; Louisville, KY; Marion, KY; Pittsburgh, PA.

 

 

Tags: Transportation

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