NEWS



National Railroad Passenger Corporation
Amtrak Corporate Communications
60 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E. 
Washington, DC 20002



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE				       ATK-96-98
May 9, 1996							       Amtrak contacts: 
								       Clifford Black        202-906-3860	
								       Marc Magliari        312-655-1338
								       GE Transportation Systems contact:
								       Susan Breon         814-875-3457

MORE POWER: AMTRAK ORDERS 98 NEW LOCOMOTIVES FROM GENERAL ELECTRIC

	WASHINGTON -- In a strong vote of confidence for nationwide intercity passenger rail service, the Amtrak Board of Directors this week approved the nearly $235 million purchase of 98 new diesel locomotives from Pennsylvania-based General Electric Transportation Systems (GETS).

	These passenger locomotives will be assigned to the Chicago-based Amtrak Intercity business unit and will replace 112 F40 diesel locomotives needing extensive remanufacture.  These 98 replacement locomotives are a 4,250 horsepower version of the P40, a 4,000 horsepower GE locomotive first purchased by Amtrak in 1990.

	First delivery of the new locomotives, designated by Amtrak as the P42 to denote the additional horsepower, is expected by September 1996.   The P42 will share the P40's technology and design features, including aerodynamic design, fuel economy, crew safety, ease of repair and environmental protection.

	This locomotive order from GE is a continuation of the GenesisTM series of diesel passenger locomotives, the first new locomotives in more than 40 years designed and built in the United States specifically for higher speed passenger service.  The F40, the current backbone of the Amtrak diesel fleet, is an adaptation of a freight locomotive design.

	"This investment illustrates the Amtrak Board's investment in the intercity rail passenger business," said Thomas M. Downs, Amtrak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "It is another partnership between the public and private sectors to ensure rail passenger service success well into the next century."				     	                             
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	The order was placed with GE following a series of negotiations with the manufacturer, financial institutions and Amtrak.  The aging locomotives being supplanted were state-of-the-art when purchased nearly 20 years ago.  Advances since then, made with the assistance of Amtrak employees, include a new engineer's control area, advanced microcomputer controls, lower noise and exhaust emissions, an integrated fuel tank, much greater fuel economy, longer range and higher top speeds.

	The fuel tank design on the GenesisTM series of locomotives is consistent with a pending recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board.  

	The P42 locomotive has 40 percent more horsepower than the F40 locomotive, which means longer Amtrak trains will need fewer locomotives and can operate at lower costs.  The P42 is also 15 percent more fuel efficient than the locomotive it will replace.

	"This is a capital investment to increase safety, improve customer service and reduce our cost of doing business," said Mark S. Cane, President, Amtrak Intercity.  "We will have standardized our fleet when the receipt of the GE locomotives is complete in July 1997, which will also allow us to reduce inventory expenses and be more effective with our training."

	"Our customers, including rail passengers and the U.S. Postal Service, will benefit from improved locomotive reliability, as will the freight railroads over which we operate," Cane said.

	As the F40's are taken out of service, some will be sold, retired or redeployed and others can be converted to non-powered control units with baggage capacity.

	GETS has headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Erie, Penn., with additional manufacturing in Grove City, Penn.  GETS is the largest U.S. manufacturer of locomotives. 

	The ability of Amtrak to reduce costs will require support from Congress, especially in providing needed funding to invest in its infrastructure.  Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Penn.) of Altoona, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has been a strong Amtrak supporter and was author of the Amtrak Reauthorization Bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 406-4 vote last year.

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	In addition, Penn. Gov. Tom Ridge and Rep. Phil English (R-Penn.) of Erie support a plan that would create a dedicated capital funding source for Amtrak.  

	"Unfortunately, the lack of infrastructure funding during the 80s is coming home to roost in the 90s in the form of aging locomotives and rolling stock, " said Downs.  "This procurement underscores the immediate positive returns of investing in Amtrak.  It means more jobs, better rail service and less operating costs."
 
	Amtrak Intercity operates passenger rail service throughout much of the United States, including Midwest corridor trains for the Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City and St. Louis markets as well as most other Amtrak long-distance services.  Headquartered in Chicago, Amtrak Intercity employs nearly 6,200 people in 39 states and is one of three Amtrak strategic business units.

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