Biden, Foxx tour new Amtrak locomotive

Vice President Biden and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx took a tour of a new Amtrak electric locomotive on Wednesday.

Biden, a noted Amtrak enthusiast, got into the cab and sat beside Amtrak train engineer Rick Stolnius to get a feel for the controls of the locomotive model Amtrak was unveiling.

{mosads}The company said the locomotive, dubbed the “Cities Sprinter,” will be used on Amtrak’s popular Northeast regional trains and will allow passengers to travel up to 125 miles per hour between between destinations along the East Coast.

The first of the new locomotives is scheduled to be used for passenger service on Friday, on a train that will travel from Boston to Washington, D.C.

Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman said the electric locomotives would represent a drastic improvement in rail service in the densely populated Northeast.

“Amtrak is integral to the daily life of the Northeast and the new locomotives will keep the people and businesses of the region connected and on the move,” Boardman said in a statement. “New equipment ensures Amtrak can deliver the reliable service the region depends on and supports the growth of the region as America’s economic powerhouse.”

Amtrak said the new electric locomotives were built by Siemens Rail Systems at solar-powered plant in Sacramento, Calif.

The 70 locomotives that were ordered by Amtrak cost $592.9 million, which was paid for with a loan for “railroad rehabilitation and improvement” from the Federal Railroad Administration.