All aboard! A private high-speed Florida railway service linking Miami with Orlando is set to begin operation by the end of 2016, using German rolling stock made in the U.S. All Aboard Florida plans an hourly schedule on 195 miles of existing tracks that have not been used for passenger trains in almost 50 years. Phase two will add 40 miles of new track to extend service to Orlando International Airport. "We see a strong resurgence of rail service in the United States," said Michael Cahill, president of German engineering giant Siemens' rail systems division in the U.S. The trains will be made in Siemens' solar-powered rail manufacturing hub in Sacramento, California, with traction motors and gearboxes coming from Norwood, Ohio; propulsion containers from Alpharetta, Georgia; and diesel engines manufactured by Cummins in Seymour, Indiana. The locomotives will also be built to meet the new tougher emissions standards set by the federal government. The trains will operate at speeds up to 125 mph with a goal of making the 235 miles between Orlando and Miami in three hours.
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- Amy Langfield, CNBC.com
