At first blush, I couldn't imagine replacing the electrics in the middle of their life cycle, but, if Amtrak could lease those electrics to the MBTA or other commuter agencies that operate on the Corridor With diesels, it makes sense. The higher performance gained by putting electrics on the MBTA locals in RI and MA would increase capacity without any other infrastructure improvements ( Not sure if the increased electric demand would be a limiter). Can't tell you how many times I followed a Local into Boston on an Acela. And it would broaden the reach of the Corridor itself; potentially creating totally new markets with new city -pairs.
electricron wrote: ↑Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:52 pm NICTD and Metra single and double level EMUs use 1500 volts "DC", not the 25Hz and 60 Hz "AC" voltages used on the NEC. That is significant, because it makes the ACS-64s incompatible with the NICTD and Metra electric lines.It's not that hard to convert DC to AC... The Nippon-Sharyo built Highliners use inverters to change DC off the wire into three-phase AC for the traction motors (CTA's 5000-series cars do the same thing). Couple that with an order for single level commuter cars, and Siemens might even eat the cost.