New High Speed Train Comes To Colorado - But Only For Testing

PUEBLO - A new passenger train capable of speeds up to 160 miles per hour has arrived in Colorado, but sadly only for testing and not for Front Range use.

The 'Acela Avelia', the next generation of Amtrak's flagship high-speed trainsets, is being put through its paces at the Transport Technology Center (TTCI) in Pueblo before returning to the manufacturer's yard in upstate New York.

The Acelas are destined for the lucrative North East Corridor service, connecting Boston, Washington D.C. and New York, where the Acela's speed has allowed Amtrak to capture a majority share of the DC-NYC travel market.

Current Acela trains can carry up to 300 passengers at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour, the new trainsets will allow room for up to 400 passengers and speeds of up to 165 miles per hour.

In order to travel at such speeds passenger trains need to be able to 'tilt' into corners and must be equipped with exceptional dynamic braking systems. It is these items, amongst others, as well as the speed and power of the train that will be fully tested at the TTCI circuit.

Whereas passenger trains traditionally include a variable number of carriages being pulled behind a locomotive, Acela trains travel in fixed sets - currently five passenger cars and a cafe car with a power unit/engineer station at each end.

Also different on the Acela trains is that they only feature business-class and first-class seating and are thus considerably more expensive to ride - from $99 one-way on the New York-D.C. route compared to $39 on Amtrak's traditional trainsets.

Once testing is complete the trainset will return to the Alstom manufacturing facility near Rochester, New York. Although Alstom is a European-based multi-national, all of the Acela sets will be constructed at the New York facility, with a commitment that at least 90% of the train's parts be American-made.

The sets are scheduled to begin passenger revenue service in Fall 2021.

Finally, although the Acelas are in Colorado for testing only, the movement to build a passenger rail network for the Front Range continues apace. The Southwest Chief & Front Range Passenger Rail Commission is an active part of the state's Department of Transportation (CDOT). Meetings of the the Commission are held, currently by Zoom, on the fourth Friday of each month.

Further information regarding the work of the Commission, its meetings, agendas and minutes, can be found on the CDOT website at :https://www.codot.gov/about/southwest-chief-commission-front-range-passenger-rail/southwest-chief-commission-front-range-passenger-rail