Overseas Appearances
The manufacturer of X 2000 has tried to sell the train to other countries than Sweden, but with mixed success. In connection with the sales attempts the train was tested and demonstrated in some countries.
An X 2000 trainset toured the United States in 1993 on lease to Amtrak. The train was tested by Amtrak October 1992-January 1993. It was used in revenue service on the Northeast Corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C. for about 5 months, February - May and August - September. In May - July it was taken on a National Tour around the 48 continental states for demonstration stops at significant stations. It also toured parts of Canada.
In 1995, CountryLink (the regional operator in New South Wales, Australia), hired three X 2000 cars for evaluation purposes, being one driving trailer, one bistro car and one first class car. The trains were towed in a push/pull operation by two modified XPT power car/locomotives, numbered XP2000 and XP2009 and were in service from Sydney to Canberra for two months, from 23 April to June 18, 1995.
China also purchased a X 2000 train named "Xinshisu" (New Speed). The train served as Guangzhou-Kowloon Through Train on the Guangshen Railway from 1998 to 2007. It was delivered to Sichuan Province in August 2007. However, due to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Chengdu Railway Bureau needed to rebuild the railway networks in Sichuan Province. Also, the authority could not carry the maintenance costs of the train. It was therefore returned to Guangshen Railway Company Limited in late December 2008. In 2012 the train was purchased by SJ and was shipped back to Sweden.
Read more about this topic: SJ 2000
Famous quotes containing the word appearances:
“What I often forget about students, especially undergraduates, is that surface appearances are misleading. Most of them are at base as conventional as Presbyterian deacons.”
—Muriel Beadle (b. 1915)