Alstom on June 4 announced that it has purchased a 20-acre property in Newark, Del., where the company will provide services and maintenance for Amtrak’s NextGen Acela high-speed passenger trains. Alstom is investing more than $55 million to acquire and improve the property and will employ approximately 100 people at this site once it is operational.
The site, chosen in part because of its direct access to the Northeast Corridor (NEC) railroad tracks, “will play a key role in fulfilling Alstom’s Technical Support and Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) with Amtrak,” according to Alstom, which will construct a new maintenance facility at the site that will be large enough to service two trainsets at a time, along with a third outdoor track for storage. The new facility is expected to open in summer 2028.
In addition to the new building, Alstom will adapt an existing warehouse on the property for storage and offices for a parts distribution center, which is currently located in the nearby city of New Castle. The 50 employees from that site, which serves the first-generation Acela, will eventually be moved to the new facility in Newark, and another 50 people will be hired for the expanded scope of work. Alstom is working with New Castle County officials and the Delaware Prosperity Partnership to bring the project to fruition…