page_title: Electrification of Caltrain
section_title: EMD AEM-7AC
hierarchical_section_title: Electrification of Caltrain / Design / Rolling stock / EMD AEM-7AC
caption_attribution_description: English: Ex-Amtrak AEM-7 locomotives #929 and #938 at Oakland Maintenance Facility in July 2019
context_page_description: The Caltrain Modernization Program is a $1.9 billion project that will add a positive train control system and electrify the main line of the U.S. commuter railroad Caltrain, which serves cities in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley, as well as transition from its current diesel-electric locomotive powered trains to electric multiple units. According to Caltrain, electrification of the tracks will allow it to improve service times via faster acceleration and shorter headways, reduce air pollution and noise, and facilitate a future railway tunnel into downtown San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center.
  Proposals for electrifying the line began as early as 1992, when the California Department of Transportation conducted an early feasibility study. For two decades, the project lay dormant due to lack of funding until Caltrain agreed to share its tracks with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, which was looking for a route for the constitutionally mandated San Jose—San Francisco segment. The Authority agreed to partially fund the electrification project in exchange for rights to share the track.
context_section_description: Since Amtrak have replaced its fleet of EMD AEM-7 locomotives with Siemens ACS-64, PCJPB entered discussions to purchase several retired AEM-7s to test the electrification system and to serve as reserve locomotives in the event of EMU unavailability. Because of the delay in delivering ACS-64s, the target sale date for the AEM-7 was moved out to June 2016. Although procuring an ACS-64 for testing was considered, Siemens stated no locomotives were available for lease, and the cost to purchase a new ACS-64 exceeded the budget allowance for testing.
  The May 2017 PCEP Monthly Progress Report noted that PCJPB was drafting two requests for proposals: one to purchase an electric locomotive to test the electrification system, and another to refurbish an electric locomotive. By October 2017, the work in progress had identified two vendors: Mitsui for purchase, and Amtrak for refurbishment; in January 2018, contracts were ready to be awarded to those vendors. Mitsui owns several ex-Amtrak AEM-7 locomotives, and it has not been reported how many of these will be sold to Caltrain. On June 7, 2018, Caltrain staff recommended that two contracts be awarded for a total of approximately $610,000: one to purchase two AEM-7ACs from Mitsui & Co, and the other to Amtrak for refurbishment, training, and transportation to Caltrain Centralized Equipment Maintenance and Operations Facility, which passed unanimously. The AEM-7AC locomotives were scheduled to arrive in February 2019, but were still at Amtrak's Ivy City facility (near Washington D.C.) in April 2019 and did not arrive until June 28. After testing is completed in 2020, the used locomotives will be disposed.
caption: The locomotives in July 2019
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot SX720 HS", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Picasa", "Image DateTime": "2019:07:07 18:40:33", "Image Artist": "Picasa", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "260", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9478", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5700", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "33/10", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "160", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:07:05 16:23:48", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:07:05 16:23:48", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "319/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "55/16", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "55/16", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "43/10", "EXIF SubSecTime": "62", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "62", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "62", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4850", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3637", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "5184", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3888", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9330", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1036800/49", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "486000/23", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "ef714e8bb14b48bda75208ca9754a9e7", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": ""}