New Amtrak train cars are coming to the New Haven-Springfield Line.
The quasi-public railroad company announced plans last week to invest $7.3 billion in new, state-of-the-art equipment, including 83 trains expected to be manufactured in Sacramento, California by Munich-based Siemens Mobility. The trains will be deployed throughout the Northeast, including on the New Haven-Springfield rail line, which is used by the Hartford Line and Valley Flyer commuter rail services.
Amtrak officials said the new railcars will feature more comfortable seating, individual power outlets and USB ports, onboard wireless Internet access, enhanced lighting, expanded food service options and digital seat reservation systems. Some of the units will use hybrid battery power.
The company said it could order up to 130 additional trains as it steps up expansion and railcar replacement efforts.
Aside from the New Haven-Springfield Line, the trains will be used on the Boston-to-Washington, D.C. Northeast Regional, Amtrak’s busiest route in the country, and a number of other networks running through New England, the Mid-Atlantic region and the Pacific Northwest.
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