Siemens Mobility, along with US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Brightline West, has announced Horseheads, New York, as the site of what Siemens says will be the first high-speed rail production facility in North America.
The $60 million facility will produce American Pioneer 220 trains for the Brightline West line connecting Las Vegas to Southern California.
The plant, which will cover nearly 28,000 square metres, will create around 300 jobs, including electro-mechanical assemblers, production and quality management engineers, among others. Production is scheduled to start in 2026.
The first high-speed train factory in America will produce 10 American Pioneer 220 trains
The trains, an American version of the Siemens Velaro Novo, will be designed to reach 220 mph (354 km/h). Brightline West has ordered 10 seven-car trainsets, with a maximum capacity of 450 people.
They will serve the line that, from 2028, will link Las Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino, California. From there, transferring to Metrolink trains to Los Angeles will be possible.
Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility, underlined the importance of this new facility: “This is an exciting moment not only for Siemens Mobility, but for the entire rail industry. This plant marks the beginning of a new industry in the US, bringing the production of high-speed trains and some of the world’s most modern trains to the continent for the first time”.
Senator Chuck Schumer also underlined the impact of this investment: “The future of high-speed rail in America will be built in upstate New York. This investment by Siemens will lay the groundwork for the next chapter of our nation’s transportation future.”
Michael Reininger, CEO of Brightline, added: “For the first time in the US, we will build trains that will rival the best in the world, reaching speeds of more than 300 km/h and setting a new standard in transportation.”
With this plant, Siemens Mobility will not only contribute to the development of high-speed rail infrastructure in the US, but also strengthen its presence in New York, where it already employs more than 2,500 people.
However, although their top speed is 260 km/h, the battered Avelia Liberty that Alstom is tuning for Amtrak has also been manufactured in the USA. The Hornell (NY) plant where they were assembled is less than 100 km from Siemens’ future Horseheads plant.
