Siemens lands $3.4 billion hybrid train order from U.S. Amtrak

FILE PHOTO: An Amtrak train is parked at the platform inside New York's Penn Station, the nation's busiest train hub, July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

MUNICH (Reuters) – Siemens Mobility said on Wednesday it had landed a $3.4 billion order from U.S. national rail transportation company Amtrak for 73 trains that will be powered by hybrid engines.

The order for the trains, which will play a transport corridor in the U.S. northeast, has an option to be expanded by up to 140 more units, Siemens Mobility said in a statement.

“The new trains will fundamentally change travel by rail. We will replace our 40- to 50-year-old fleet with modern U.S.-made trains and systems,” said CEO Bill Flynn of Amtrak.

Siemens Mobility said the order, its largest ever in the United States, would include maintenance and service.

“We believe that battery hybrid drives and dual-power trains will play an important role in reducing emissions and protecting the environment in the United States,” said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility.

(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Writing by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Riham Alkousaa)

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