USA: Siemens Mobility has selected a site at Horseheads in upstate New York to produce American Pioneer 220 high speed trainsets for the Brightline West project to link Las Vegas with southern California.
Brightline West said these would be ‘the first true high speed train sets to be built in America’, designed to operate at speeds of up to 355 km/h.
Announcing the factory location on September 9, Siemens Mobility CEO Michael Peter said the facility would mark ‘the beginning of a brand new industry in the USA — bringing both high speed rail production and some of the world’s most modern trains to the continent for the first time’.
On May 1 Brightline West named Siemens Mobility as preferred bidder to supply and maintain 10 seven-car trainsets for the project. On September 9 Siemens Mobility confirmed to Railway Gazette International that the contract is still be finalised.
Siemens Mobility is also shortlisted for the contract to supply trainsets for the California high speed rail project. The manufacturer told Railway Gazette International it had not yet decided where these would be produced if it wins the order.
Planting the flag
Siemens Mobility said it had chosen Horseheads for its skilled workforce, industrial history and ability to best meet the needs of Brightline West.
Siemens Mobility’s $60m manufacturing facility will cover nearly 28 000 m2, with production expected to begin in 2026.
‘Continuing our more than four-decade legacy of building trains in America, the American Pioneer 220s will be American-Made in New York by a team of more than 300 skilled team members’, said Siemens Mobility North America CEO Marc Buncher.
The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers has signed a memorandum for union representation.
Horseheads is adjacent to Elmira, home of CAF’s US business, and around 80 km from Alstom’s Hornell factory.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said ’upstate New York is unmatched in railcar manufacturing capabilities, with a deep proud history pioneering the rail industry and a community that is excited to get to work building America’s future. Siemens Mobility is an excellent addition to the outstanding manufacturers already in this region.’
Brightline CEO Michael Reininger said ‘Brightline West will plant the flag for high speed rail in America and will lay the foundation for a new industry with unimaginable economic benefits. Today’s announcement that jobs are being created thousands of miles away from the rail line is just the starting point. For the first time ever in the US, we will be manufacturing trains that will compete with the best in the world.’
