Amtrak operates a fleet of 2,142 railway cars and 425 locomotives for revenue runs and service, collectively called rolling stock. Notable examples include the GE Genesis and Siemens Charger diesel locomotives, the Siemens ACS-64 electric locomotive, the Amfleet series of single-level passenger cars, the Superliner series of double-decker passenger cars, and 20 Acela Express high-speed trainsets. Amtrak also operates 196 locomotives and railcars owned wholly by state partners.[1]
The railroad is currently working to replace its fleet, spending $2.4 billion on 28 NextGen Acela[2] (Avelia Liberty) trainsets for its flagship Acela service and $7.3 billion for 65 Airo trainsets for other Northeast Corridor services. Additionally, California, North Carolina, and a group of Midwestern states purchased Siemens Venture trainsets for use on routes operated by Amtrak in their states, which started entering service in 2022. In 2023, Amtrak announced it had made a request for proposals, looking to replace hundreds of railcars used on long-distance routes.[3]
Amtrak operates diesel, electric, and dual-mode (diesel or electric) locomotives. Its electric locomotives are confined to the Northeast Corridor and the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line, dual-mode locomotives are only used in the Empire Corridor between Albany and New York, and the diesel locomotives are used in all other areas across the United States.
As of late 2018, Amtrak rostered 1,408 passenger cars of various types. These include coaches, lounges, dining cars, sleeping cars, baggage cars and crew/dormitory cars.[1]: 48–51
In addition to its regular fleet, Amtrak owns several business and track geometry cars:[29][20]
This is a partial listing of locomotives and rolling stock formerly operated by Amtrak. This does not include equipment inherited from private railroads (see below)
Amtrak has fielded four different types of specialized cars to support its mail and express business. These included material handling cars (MHCs), roadrailers, express boxcars, and ExpressTrak refrigerator cars. Although express cars are traditionally called "head end" cars; the MHC express boxcars were the only cars equipped with lines for head end power, allowing them to be located between the locomotive and passenger cars. All others were found on the rear of the train, behind the last passenger car. Most of the fleet was retired in 2003 when Amtrak exited the express business, save for parcels carried in baggage cars.[38]
Amtrak inherited numerous locomotives from private railroads on its formation in 1971. Most of these were retired by the end of the decade, if not earlier. These locomotives are enumerated below, with their original owners.[39]
In its early years, Amtrak also rostered some generator cars rebuilt from older locomotives and rolling stock.[39]
The first P42DC to be converted was AMTK No. 184, which became P42C No. 9700. These new control cars were modified differently than the original NPCUs, retaining their internal components for weight purposes. The original NPCU fleet didn't have enough ballast applied, which gave the engineer a rougher ride when occupied. AMTK P42C No. 9700 doesn't feature a roll-up door on its sides due to the lack of use of the baggage compartment in the existing NPCU fleet, and because the P42DC has a monoque design in which the carbody is part of the structural support for the entire locomotive. Amtrak is planning for an eventual fleet of 20 P42Cs to cover its needs across its system.