Airo Unveiled at DC Union Station

by Jim Mathews / President & CEO

This week Amtrak unveiled to the public its first new Siemens Airo trainset, bringing the train -- done up in Cascades livery because that’s where it will first enter service -- to Washington Union Station for press tours and VIP walkthroughs for members of Congress, the Administration, and their staffs.

Former Rail Passengers Board member and genuine travel expert Carl Fowler has already shared his disappointment on social media with many of the Airo features highlighted in the news coverage. I won’t argue with him, in part because some of that criticism is well-founded (the risk of software-plagued doors and the potential for practical maintenance challenges, as just two examples).

But I’m here to offer a slightly different view. These trainsets are long, long, long overdue, and they are replacing equipment that is reaching, or in some cases, has already reached, true “end-of-life.” They were also conceived, developed, built -- and, crucially, funded -- within an American political, institutional, and industrial environment that imposed a lot of design and manufacturing realities that were unavoidable: we got what we were able to get with the car-builders we have, the political support that was available, and the one-shot funding we received.

I’ve felt that way for a few years now, and my walkthrough on Tuesday at Union Station cemented that idea for me.

Let’s start with most railfans’ second-favorite topic, seats (the first being on-board food): the design team spent a few years evaluating about a dozen seat designs and configurations in a mockup warehouse in Philadelphia. I know, because I went to three mockup test events, and sat in them.

They are NOT the seats from the Amtrak’s Venture cars in the Midwest, and they are NOT the seats from the Next-Gen Acela. They ARE contemporary seats, and opinions are decidedly mixed. I don’t find them uncomfortable at all, but some people do.

I like the lumbar support, and I like not sinking deep into a cushion that has long-ago lost its form. At the same time, there is plenty of cushion; they’re not “commuter seats.” I actually find them to be comfortable and better than the old seats. And I actually like being able to recline without worrying about offending the person behind me. Other people vehemently hate new-style seats. I’m not here to convince you to like them. But the reality is that not everyone finds the same things to be comfortable or inviting universally, and plenty of passengers like them as don't like them.

The lighting is superior, not just overhead but with task lights at the seats. And task lights can be turned on and off without having to stretch way above your head to activate them (which is something many smaller-stature passengers, as well as those in wheelchairs, have had to deal with). Power plugs are between the two seats rather than on the wall, so no more stretching the power cords across your neighbor’s lap or under their legs. Powered devices are commonplace today in a way that they were not when Amfleets entered service. This is an important upgrade.

My train to DC earlier this week required the Assistant Conductor to use a ten-pound sledgehammer to free the doors in the vestibule of ice so that we could hop off at Union Station. The Airos have heated elements in the doors, so that’s no longer an issue. The locomotives are dual-mode, which will save a ton of time by avoiding the need to swap out locomotives.

No, everyone did not get everything they wanted. Including me. But we also got a lot of things that we DID want: modern, well-lit, accessible, maintainable, flexible trains with a host of at-seat amenities. (For what it's worth, one of the things I DID get was installation of automated defibrillators on the trains. As a paramedic, I can tell you that AEDs save lives.)

We’ll have to keep an eye on maintenance issues, particularly as the trainsets are rolling out in some cases before their “home base” maintenance shops will be fully functional And given that the Superliner replacement order will soon be up for grabs and competitive, car-builders will want to show that they can do a good job of supporting their newest products -- Airo for Siemens and Next-Gen Acela for Alstom -- and keeping them trouble-free. We’ll also have to see whether Amtrak and Siemens can keep the promises made about the ability to keep trainsets (as opposed to loose cars) fully functional with overnight work.

These are genuine open questions, and both Siemens and Amtrak should be held to answering them. But at the same time, let’s celebrate the commitment to getting modern new equipment, built and delivered in the U.S., operating throughout the entire U.S. network. (The New York Times did an excellent video feature on Siemens’ Sacramento assembly plant building the Airos, which you can watch by clicking here.)