Siemens Venture

Siemens Venture
Years of manufacture	2016 to present
Length	25.9 m (85 ft)
Width	3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Height	4.3 m (14 ft)
Maximum Speed	200 km/h (125 mph)

The Siemens Venture is a passenger rolling stock product produced for passenger railways in Canada and the United States. The cars were first ordered by Brightline in 2014 and first entered service with that operator in 2018. Venture cars have since been ordered by multiple national and state- and province-supported intercity rail operators in the United States and Canada.

Design

The passenger cars are based on the Siemens Viaggio Comfort used in Austria and adapted for the North American market. A number of configurations are available including: coach cars, business cars, cafe cars, and cab cars. Venture cars can be ordered as permanently-coupled trainsets or individual cars. Venture cars are typically hauled by the Siemens Charger locomotive.

The Siemens Venture Cars (SV125) feature crash energy management (CEM) systems that include crumple zones at each end to absorb energy in a collision. The cars are in accordance Federal Railroad Aministration regulations, American Public Transportation Association standards, and Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 305 specifications.

History

The Venture passenger cars were first developed for Brightline, a higher-speed rail system in the American state of Florida. Their trainsets consisted of four 85-foot passenger cars with a Charger locomotive on either end. Siemens was selected to supply the trainsets in August 2014. Brightline worked with the Rockwell Group and Siemens to design and develop the new trains. Manufacturing began in July 2015, and the first trainset was delivered in December 2016.

In 2012, Caltrans awarded a contract to Sumitomo Corporation for the supply of 130 Next Generation Bi-Level Passenger Rail Cas. Sumitomo subcontracted Nippon Sharyo to manufacture the cars. The project encountered delays. In 2015, a prototype car failed to pass a mandatory crash safety test, necessitating a redesign. Caltrans amended its $317-million contract for new passenger cars, replacing Nippon Sharyo with Siemens in 2017. A total of 137 single-level cars will be produced. Caltrans will take 49 for use on its San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor routes (both branded under Amtrak California), and the Illinois Department of Transportation will take 88 for use on short-distance routes serving Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, and Minnesota (branded under Amtrak Midwest).

On December 12, 2018, VIA Rail Canada announced that Siemens Canada was awarded a $989 million contract to build 32 new trainsets that will replace the existing fleet used in the Quebec-Windsor Corridor. Each trainset will be composed of a Charger locomotive, two Business cars, two Economy cars, and one Economy cab car. The new trains are expected to go into service in 2022. VIA's first complete Venture trainset was unveiled September 27, 2021, and was delivered on September 29, 2021.

In 2021, Amtrak ordered 75 dual-mode trainsets for use in the Northeast Corridor and the Empire Corridor, all powered by an ALC-42E locomotive. 6- and 8-car trainsets for use in the Northeast Corridor will feature an auxiliary power vehicle (APV) consisting of a pantograph and powered trucks to allow operation on electrified portions of the corridor. 6-car trainsets for use in the Empire Corridor will feature a car equipped with batteries to supply the locomotive with electrical power while in emissions-restricted areas within New York City.