steveintoronto
Superstar
Not on this model. Other than SMART and UPX, there appears to be no other customers. It's probably an orphan, and *apparently* (although documentation, not hearsay, would prove or disprove this, Metrolinx used to publish specs, I have a link, it's gone dead) even SMART's and UPX' aren't to the same specs. Interior layout difference is obvious, some of the technical mods aren't.As I pointed out then, Toronto's orders are, generally speaking, massive compared to most other operators and therefore fleet economies of scale only go so far before they get outweighed by products insufficiently optimised for quite different taskings.
A total of 32 have been built, and other operators have considered these, looked at the price and limitations, and walked away. It creates a dilemma as to expanding the fleet, or cutting losses and deciding on something else. Claims of ease of electrifying approach the absurd. Metrolinx has pulled that page down now too. Covering their tracks, so to speak. This acquisition is far from "massive". Sharyo are now, or shortly due to, disassemble their assembly jigs for this model. Follow-on and new sales are non-existant and Sharyo has some very serious issues with their larger contracts to deal with.
And btw: Here's support for Vegeta's earlier claims:
http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/11403-troubles-at-nippon-sharyo-with-amtrak-coach-order/Posted 12 April 2016 - 09:57 PM
Delay of two more years. Also read the DMUs in Toronto are also having large number of failures, mainly drivetrain related.
Quote
In a written response to questions from The Wall Street Journal, Nippon Sharyo said the 88-foot-long Amtrak cars are “different from all of the existing railcars” it has built for U.S. customers. “Programs of this type are complex undertakings, have high thresholds for safety and technical challenges are not uncommon,” the company said.
It had to rely on suppliers that it has never worked with before and found some components so difficult to obtain in the U.S. that it sought permission to make them in Japan, the California Department of Transportation said.
http://www.wsj.com/a...cars-1460308921
*if paywall encountered, use google search
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