Bombardier Inc., a tenacious fighter in landing the first Amtrak Acela Express contract at the turn of the century, announced it will not compete for Amtrak's next-generation order of high speed rail equipment for the railroad's Northeast Corridor (NEC).
Bombardier, making the announcement Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, said its decision was made in part due to Amtrak making changes in its specs for its upcoming order.
Amtrak is expected to purchase 28 trainsets capable of speeds up to 160 mph, and may announce its preferred supplier by next spring. Its Request for Proposals (RFP), due last Oct. 1, reportedly drew interest from Seoul, South Korea-based Hyundai Rotem, and while Siemens AG has not affirmed its interest outright in the Amtrak order, its display of HSR equipment at APTA Expo 2015 in Houston last October was seen as a marketing bid for both Amtrak's NEC and California's HSR business.
Bombardier produced the first Acela Express trainsets in tandem with Alstom SA, with equipment placed into service beginning in 2000. Technical glitches initially plagued the new gear at first, generating friction amongst Amtrak, Bombardier, and Alstom, with the two suppliers leveling lawsuits at each other prior to a settlement in 2004.
The two suppliers beat out other bids from Siemens and ABB for the Acela order, though test equipment offered by each company for demonstration on the NEC during the 1990s made the choice a difficult one for Amtrak from a public relations perspective.