Quote:
Originally Posted by mousquet
^ You want Siemens to turn into a monopoly on your national market? Hoïaïaïe, that would be wrong.
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Yes, monopolies are dumb for all the reasons you listed - and more - and I certainly do not want one, but at this point I think it is most likely that as far as intercity rail is concerned, Siemens is going to be the dominant player for a while.
My city is home to a new Stadler Rail factory (assembly building, but whatever), and I would be delighted to see Stadler win more projects. But all of their off-the shelf equipment is either too tall or too slow for the Northeast Corridor, and Amtrak really isn't interested in articulated trainsets (beyond Acela).
Is there any other real alternative in NA for an amfleet replacement besides the Siemens viaggio (or whatever it's called)? If they go with Siemens, they will have Siemens electric locomotives, Siemens diesel locomotives, and Siemens passenger cars (probably coaches and cab cars). That sounds pretty much like a takeover to me. But so long as it is limited to Amtrak and Via, it isn't necessarily a bad thing.