Bi-level High Speed Trainsets

[Pensyfan19]

I was watching a French high speed train compilation and I just had the idea of the possibility of Amtrak running Bi-level high speed trainsets on the Northeast Corridor. The compilation I was watching consisted of the Euroduplex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euroduplex) with a height of 14ft 2in, which is short enough to meet the tunnel clearances of the NEC. Even though this model is starting to be phased out by the next generation of Bi-level trains, the Avelia Horizon for France, could it be possible for Amtrak to have something in this nature, especially with meeting the high capacity demands for the northeast Corridor?
(Before you say "we have the Avelia Liberty" or "covid will keep ridership low", this idea is for a general discussion of the possibility, considering the success of high speed rail on the NEC and potentially other high speed rail corridors.)

[Tadman]

It came up in discussion a while back, some guys were adamant it wouldn't work because there is no luggage space. I was in favor of it as if it works in France... and Japan and China...

[mtuandrew]

There was also the question of bilevels not being fully ADA-accessible. That probably isn’t an issue on the Corridor, especially if at-seat cafe service is available.

The nice thing about the Avelia platform is that Alstom could decouple the singles and add bilevel carriages, assuming Amtrak signed a big enough check.

[hxa]

It came up in discussion a while back, some guys were adamant it wouldn't work because there is no luggage space. I was in favor of it as if it works in France... and Japan and China...

Currently no bilevel high speed trains operate in China, where 16-car, 400-meter-long single level EMUs are very common.

[STrRedWolf]

The closest we have is the MARC/NJ Transit operated Bombardier Multilevel. And yes, there's no room for baggage... because they're commuter trains.

I wonder if they have dedicated baggage cars or baggage areas.

[eolesen]

The other problem with bi-levels is your center of gravity shifts upward with a bi-level. That would reduce the speed you could safely take curves and possibly defeat the main purpose of HSR (high speed...).

[Pensyfan19]

The other problem with bi-levels is your center of gravity shifts upward with a bi-level. That would reduce the speed you could safely take curves and possibly defeat the main purpose of HSR (high speed...).

However, the model which I based this idea on, the TGV Duplex, can reach speeds of up too 200 mph, and the next bi-level high speed train, the Avelia Horizon, can go up to 220. I believe all high speed trains in France are limited to 175mph, but that would also mean that the euroduplex is allowed to run up to 175 mph, meaning that with proper upgrades to the NEC and other corridors, these bi-level trainsets can operate at the same speed as the single level high speed trainsets.

[mtuandrew]

Even the Bombardier MLV, known to be pretty top-heavy, is cleared on the NEC for 125 mph in MARC service. Surely a welterweight Euro- or Asia-spec HST can beat that speed by a good margin without passenger discomfort.

[MattW]

I don't know specific speed restrictions of course, but just because something can do 200-220 on straight track doesn't mean it can go as fast through a curve as another train.