Surfliner (railcar)

Surfliner
"Surfliner" coach/baggage/cab car 6905 leading the Pacific Surfliner in Lake Forest, California.
Lower level accessible seating area of a Surfliner car.
Manufacturer	Alstom
Built at	Hornell, New York
Family name	Superliner derived bi-level intercity railcar
Constructed	2000–2002
Number built	62
Formation	single car
Fleet numbers	6000 series
Capacity	90 passengers (coach cars)
Operator(s)	Amtrak & Caltrans as Amtrak California
Depot(s)	Los Angeles, Oakland
Line(s) served	Pacific Surfliner, Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin
Specifications
Car length	85 ft 0 in (25.91 m)
Width	10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Height	16 ft 2 in (4.93 m)
Entry	Step
Doors	2 sets of bi-parting automatic doors per side
Maximum speed	90 miles per hour (145 km/h)
Power supply	480 V AC 60Hz Head end power
Bogies	GSI 70
Braking system(s)	Air
Coupling system	AAR
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

The Surfliner is the second generation of Superliner derived bi-level intercity railcars owned by both Amtrak and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and operated under the Amtrak California brand of intercity corridor routes in Northern, Central and Southern California.

Alstom delivered the first order of cars for Amtrak between 2000 and 2001. A second order for the Caltrans Division of Rail was delivered in 2002. Amtrak's Superliner was used as the design baseline for the Surfliner, but several changes were made to the design to make the car more suitable for corridor services with frequent stops.

After the problematic delivery of the California Car in 1996, Amtrak set out to create a more advanced and reliable second generation intercity car for use on the busy San Diegan route (which was re-branded as the Pacific Surfliner when these cars were delivered). Several design changes were made to the cars including moving one of the restrooms to the upper level, adding a power outlet at every seat pair, moving the checked baggage compartment into the lower level of the cab car and creating a smaller galley on the lower level of the café car, enabling the upper level to be used for revenue seating.

In February 1998, Amtrak ordered 40 Surfliner cars that were delivered by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 (all numbered in the 6xxx series). The first cars started operating on the Pacific Surfliner in April 2000.

In September 1999, Caltrans placed a smaller order for 22 cars. 10 cars (numbered in the 6x5x series) are used to supplement the Amtrak-owned cars on the Pacific Surfliner and the other 12 (numbered in the 6x6x series) are used to expand the fleet used on the Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin. These were the final Surfliner cars to be built and delivery was completed in 2002.