X 2000 in the USA
 
 
This site is about when Amtrak leased the Swedish High Speed Train X2000 (SJ Class X2) to test it and run it in revenue service in order to define their own future High Speed Train, that we today know as Acela. Pictures of a train In 1992 Amtrak leased a X2000 train-set from the Swedish State Railways (SJ) for tests and evaluation. The train was shipped from Gothenburg, Sweden, via Bremen, Germany, to Baltimore in the fall of 1992. During October, November and December that year the train was thoroughly tested in speeds of up to 155 m.p.h. After final tests in January 1993 the train was put into revenue service between Washington D.C. and New York City starting February 1. During four weeks in April-May the service was extended to New Haven. You will find that sometimes I am calling this train X2 and sometimes X2000. The train is a Class X2. X2000 is a service concept. But X2 was featured as X2000 in the US. In my mind it is X2 but if you call it X2, no one knows what it is, so X2000 is fine. The train set consisted of: Power car X2 2013 Coaches UA2 2718 + UA2 2719 + UA2 2810 Bistro car URA2 2609 Cab car UA2X 2511. All 1st Class configuration. Class X2 train set (above): Overall length: 459 ft. Width: 10’ 2” Weight: 712,093 lb Power car (Amtrak configuration): Primary voltages 11 kV / 25 Hz 12.5 kV / 60 Hz 25 kV / 60 Hz Continous rating 3,400 kW The train was operated in speeds of up to 135 mph in revenue service and tested up to 155 mph. When Class X2 was ordered SJ specified max. 12 failures per 1.2M Km (745,340 miles).  In the period from September 4, 1990 to September 5, 1995 the X2 units averaged 3.32 failures per 1.2M Km, well below the maximum allowed. After 25,000 departures there had only been 20 tilt failures. Welcome to This map shows where we went with the X2000. Not all stops are shown.