Sumitomo selected for four-state coach contract

28 September 2012

USA: The California, Illinois, Michigan and Missouri state departments of transportation have selected Sumitomo Corp of America for a jointly-awarded contract to supply 130 double-deck coaches. Sumitomo Corp submitted a bid of $352·3m, and was named the preferred choice on September 26. The contract is expected to be finalised in November, subject to a Buy America audit of the planned production processes. The coaches are to be built at the Nippon Sharyo plant in Rochelle, Illinois, with deliveries scheduled to run from late 2015 to early 2018. 'By pooling our resources, all four states involved in this partnership can purchase the equipment at lower costs because it will be acquired in high volume under one contract,' said Malcolm Dougherty, director of Caltrans which is leading the procurement. The Federal Railroad Administration is providing grants for the coaches as part of a $808m package of locomotive and rolling stock investment. 'Because multiple states have for the first time pooled their resources and settled on a standardised design, this top-of-the-line equipment can be purchased, repaired, and maintained for the lowest possible price', said federal Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

Joint coach order
Customer	Coaches	Routes
California	42	Capitol Corridor (Sacramento - Oakland - San Jose) San Joaquin (San Francisco Bay Area/Sacramento - Bakersfield/Southern California) Pacific Surfliner (San Luis Obisbo - Los Angeles - San Diego)
Midwest Coalition (Illinois, Michigan, Missouri)	88	Blue Water (Chicago - Port Huron) Wolverine (Chicago - Detroit-Pontiac) Pere Marquette (Chicago - Grand Rapids) Illini/Saluki (Chicago - Carbondale) Lincoln Service (Chicago - St Louis) Missouri River Runner (St Louis - Kansas City) Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg (Chicago - Quincy) future Chicago - Dubuque/Quad Cities/Iowa City services

Jr Central unveils n700a high speed train

28 September 2012

JAPAN: JR Central has unveiled its next generation of high speed trains to operate on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, which is expected to enter revenue service from February 8 2013. Unveiled at the railway's Hammamatsu depot on September 18, the new trains are officially designated Series N700-1000, but are branded as N700A, for Advanced. The trains have almost the same structure, exterior design and performance as the existing Series N700 sets introduced in 2007, but offer improvements in four main areas: safety, reliability, comfort and environment, with particular emphasis on energy saving. Energy-saving measures include the use of LED lighting in the toilet compartments and a new design of recyclable polyester moquette for the seats. Other changes include modified brake discs, bogie vibration detection, and ATC improvements. Each 16-car trainset will have seats for 1 323 passengers, including three Green Class vehicles. There are 14 powered intermediate cars, of which two have pantographs, plus two unpowered driving trailers. Like the Series N700 sets, the new units incorporate 1° of tilt to enable operation at a maximum speed of 270 km/h on the Tokaido Shinkansen and 300 km/h on the Sanyo Shinkansen. Having been delivered in August, the first unit is currently undergoing commissioning and test running on the Tokaido Shinkansen. JR Central expects to take delivery of six sets during the current financial year and a further seven in fiscal 2013, replacing its oldest Series 700 trainsets which entered service from 1999.

Government sets out transport priorities