Jet Train - History

History

The JetTrain originated in a 1997 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) desire to develop high speed train services on routes outside the Northeast Corridor where route volumes might not be great enough to make electrification an option. The FRA went looking for an industrial partner who would be willing to invest on a 50/50 basis, and FRA spokesman Warren Flatau commented, "Bombardier is the company that stepped up to the plate when we put out the word we were interested in doing this project. We believe that the project holds great potential for bringing about the high speed services that people across the country are expressing a desire for." The final agreement was signed in October 1998, with the FRA and Bombardier each investing $13 million in the prototype, which was built at the new Bombardier Mass Transit Corporation plant in Plattsburgh, NY.

The prototype was completed in June 2000. Safety testing started at the FRA's Pueblo, CO test track in the summer of 2001, where it reached a maximum speed of 156 mph. The prototype was then taken on a tour of potential high speed sites. Their primary target was the Florida Overland Express for passenger service between Orlando and Tampa in the United States. In support of this program, the prototype visited Miami on 7 October 2003 and Orlando on the 11th. The system was originally slated to open in 2009, but was denied funding by a referendum in 2004, after the start of detail engineering stages.

In Canada, Bombardier and Via Rail presented a proposal to use the JetTrain on Via’s busy Quebec City-Windsor Corridor as part of their ViaFast proposal, but were unable to obtain funding from the national government. In January 2008, the premiers of Ontario and Quebec announced a feasibility study for the Corridor, giving high speed trains another chance. The Van Horne Institute has also completed a study with Bombardier regarding the suitability of JetTrain service between the two largest cities in Alberta, Edmonton and Calgary. Other possibilities included new lines in Texas and to Las Vegas.

In the United Kingdom, the JetTrain has been proposed as a replacement for the 125 mph diesel-electric HST. Australian rail magazines have suggested the JetTrain as a viable option for high-speed rail in Australia to supplement the XPT (a version of the British HST) and Tilt Train.

However, nothing ever came of any of these proposals, and the JetTrain essentially disappeared, being superseded by the Bombardier Zefiro line of conventionally-powered high speed and very high speed trains. The JetTrain no longer appears on any of Bombardier's current web sites or promotional materials, although it can still be found on older web sites bearing the Canadair logos.

Bombardier more recently has begun conversations with the state government of Yucatan in Mexico for the development of the Transpeninsular Fast Train. The project aims to connect the state capital of Mérida to the tourist resorts of the Mayan Riviera like Cancun and the Mayan Ruins of Chichen Itza. According to the Governor Ivonne Ortega, the train must run on diesel at an average speed of 100 mph, for which Bombardier deemed suitable the use of The JetTrain.