In service 1989–present Constructed 1988–1990 | Family name Comet (railcar) Operator(s) Amtrak | |
 | ||
Manufacturer Bombardier Transportation Number built 104:
86 coaches
18 food-service | ||
The Horizon is a single-level model of rail car used by Amtrak, primarily on short-haul corridor routes in the Midwestern United States. Bombardier Transportation built 104 of the cars in 1988–1990 based on the Comet II commuter coach design.
Contents
Design
The Horizon was adapted from the Comet, a single-level commuter coach originally designed and built by Pullman-Standard in 1970–1973 for the Erie Lackawanna Railroad. Bombardier delivered two basic types: a coach and a cafe. The coaches could seat between 76–82 in standard configuration; 14 were built as accessible coaches and sat 72. The entire coach fleet was later rebuilt to be accessible, with maximum seating now 68–72. The Horizon has a maximum speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). Horizon cars ride on GSI-G70 outboard bearing trucks, also found on the Superliner II.
Service
Bombardier Transportation manufactured 104 Horizon-type cars for Amtrak: 86 coaches and 18 food service cars, in Cafe/Club (half table seating, half business class seating) and Dinette (all table seating) configurations. The first Horizon cars entered service in April, 1989. In 1994 Amtrak considered ordering a further 23 cars to replace the gas-turbine Turboliner trainsets on the Empire Corridor but continuing budget woes prevented this.
Amtrak's Horizon passenger cars primarily are used on trains based out of Amtrak's Chicago division including the Illinois Service (Carl Sandburg, Illini, Illinois Zephyr, Lincoln Service & Saluki), Michigan Services (Blue Water & Wolverine), Hiawatha, Hoosier State and Missouri River Runner. Several Horizon cars are assigned to Amtrak's Los Angeles division for use on the Pacific Surfliner route. The California Department of Transportation has also paid to lease and refurbish 3 Dinettes (all table seating) for use as café cars on the San Joaquin route. These cars are assigned to Amtrak's Oakland division.