PHOTO COURTESY OF AMTRAK
By Marty Gordon
Amtrak is rolling out a new, sleek looking train, which is expected to make trips through the New River Valley and Southwest Virginia.
Amtrak unveiled the new design last month with the first one debuting in 2026.
In a video announcement, the company said even in Coach, the seating will be more spacious, with extra legroom, bigger tray tables, moveable headrests, and seats with a dedicated cup holder and tablet holder. Additional amenities include onboard Wi-Fi, individual outlets and USB ports, and enhanced lighting.
The new trains, according to the company, will also be more fuel-efficient cutting emissions down by as much as 90 percent. The train will have speeds up to 125 miles per hour.
Amtrak President Roger Harris said Amtrak Airo will transform the travel experience.
“This is the future of Amtrak,” he said.
Key features include: Elevated experience: With its modern, spacious interior and panoramic windows, customers have an improved view of the best sights in the country while connecting to the passing landscape.
A more efficient impact: The new trains are more fuel efficient and produce 90% less particulate emissions in diesel operations. Reduced travel times: The new trains will operate at speeds up to 125 mph and offer near seamless transition between power sources where time-consuming locomotive changes were previously required. Redesigned café car: More contemporary food service provides self-service options. Wayfinding: Signage creates a cleaner, more evident and accessible way to identify and differentiate cabins – both on the exterior and interior through a color-coded system. Spacious seating: Each spacious seat prioritizes ergonomics, offers enhanced comfort with plenty of legroom, bigger and sturdier tray tables, moveable headrests and a dedicated cup and seatback tablet-holder. Business class: Choice of double and single seats offer customers greater flexibility. Amenities: Features enhanced lighting, improved technology with digital customer information systems and touchless restroom controls, dedicated individual outlets, USB ports and onboard Wi-Fi.
A total of three new trains are being manufactured by Siemens in California at a price tag of worth $7.4 billion and are the first phase of a refreshment plan.
