Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
Empire Builder’s Facelift Revealed Today
Cantwell: “Rail passengers will enjoy cleaner, more reliable service.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, released the following statement after Amtrak began service of its new ALC-42 locomotives on the westbound Empire Builder line from Chicago to Seattle.
“Amtrak’s historic Empire Builder is getting a facelift with today’s debut of two new locomotives. Rail passengers will enjoy cleaner, more reliable service with the state-of-the-art ALC-42 locomotives in place. I’m looking forward to even more improvements in the coming years, thanks to $22 billion in Amtrak funding passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said Senator Cantwell.
According to Amtrak, the new ALC-42 locomotives are more fuel efficient, will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by over 89 percent and particulate matter by 95 percent, and are faster. They are also Buy America compliant, made in Sacramento, California.
Senator Cantwell has been an outspoken advocate for passenger rail and Amtrak. Cantwell championed several provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that support Amtrak, including $22 billion for Amtrak’s National Network and Northeast Corridor to address the state of good repair backlog, including replacing Amtrak’s aging passenger cars used on the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight routes with safer and more comfortable cars. There is also another $12 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to expand the U.S. passenger rail network through multi-year planning and construction grants, which could be used to expand the Amtrak Cascades service or initiate new passenger rail service in Washington state.
The infrastructure bill included a number of additional reforms to improve the passenger experience by:
- Creating a working group to improve Amtrak’s food and beverage service;
- Protecting Amtrak’s long distance routes from permanent service cuts; and
- Improving safety by requiring additional oversight of Amtrak’s safety culture; improving the Federal Railroad Administration’s oversight of new routes; and addressing NTSB recommendations from the DuPont Derailment.
During the pandemic, Cantwell championed $3.7 billion in COVID relief for Amtrak, including $1.7 billion in the American Rescue Plan which restored over 2,000 Amtrak jobs across the country and prevented additional furloughs.