Superliner (railcar)

Superliner
Superliner I cars on the San Francisco Zephyr in November 1980
Interior of a Superliner I Sightseer lounge
Manufacturer	Pullman-Standard (Superliner I) Bombardier (Superliner II)
Constructed	1975–1981 (Superliner I) 1991–1996 (Superliner II)
Entered service	1979
Number built	479
Number in service	380 (FY23)[a][1]
Operators	Amtrak
Lines served	Auto Train, California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, City of New Orleans, Coast Starlight, Empire Builder, Heartland Flyer, Pere Marquette, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, and Texas Eagle
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)
Platform height	8 to 21.7 in (203.2 to 551.2 mm)
Entry	Step
Doors	1 per side, manually operated
Maximum speed	100 mph (161 km/h)
Weight	151,235–174,000 lb (68,599–78,925 kg)
Power supply	480 V 60 Hz AC
Bogies	Waggon Union MD-76 (Superliner I) GSI-G70 (Superliner II)
Braking system(s)	Air
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Superliner is a type of bilevel intercity railroad passenger car used by Amtrak, the national rail passenger carrier in the United States. Amtrak commissioned the cars to replace older single-level cars on its long-distance trains in the Western United States. The design was based on the Budd Hi-Level cars used by the Santa Fe Railway on its El Capitan trains. Pullman-Standard built 284 cars, known as Superliner I, from 1975 to 1981; Bombardier Transportation built 195, known as Superliner II, from 1991 to 1996. The Superliner I cars were the last passenger cars built by Pullman.

Car types include coaches, dining cars, lounges, and sleeping cars. Most passenger spaces are on the upper level, which has windows on both sides. The Sightseer Lounge observation cars have distinctive floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper level. Boarding is on the lower level; passengers climb up a center stairwell to reach the upper level.

The first Superliner I cars entered service in February 1979, with deliveries continuing through 1981. Amtrak assigned the cars to both long-distance and short-distance trains in the Western United States. The first permanent assignment, in October 1979, was to the Chicago–Seattle Empire Builder. Superliner II deliveries began in 1993, enabling Amtrak to retire aging Hi-Level cars and to use Superliners in trains in the Eastern United States—although tunnel clearances prevent their use on the Northeast Corridor.

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