Weighing in on Amtrak Airo cars

Replacing the Amfleets is long overdue because for one thing the Amfleet I equipment is over a half century old. Another thing is that Amtrak cannot grow if it holds onto aging fleet. The Carolinian would get a much-needed replacement. 

However, there are a number of issues with Airo:

1. No baggage cars. People aren't going to stop carrying bags. Under this scenario, only the long distance trains would continue to allow checked bags.
2. The one size fits all approach. The Airo cars are semi-permanently attached, and Amtrak decided to purchase trainsets instead of individualized cars which means that if one set is defective, the entire fleet goes out of service (see Talgo and Acela).
3. Amtrak is doing a full-scale replacement rather than adding to its fleet. Other than keeping Amfleet I and Horizon equipment as backup in case Airos are taken out of service for repairs, it'd be wise for Amtrak to shift the older equipment to areas like the Deep South where the Horizons could be used (as a matter fact, Amtrak recently used Horizon equipment as part of its test runs between New Orleans and Mobile in preparation of Gulf Coast service) and the desert where Amfleet Is could be deployed for conventional Los Angeles-Las Vegas service.

Should those ConnectsUS routes prove to be popular, those states could start the process to order new equipment--whether they're from Siemens or someone else. This would be much better than junking the old equipment just to prevent potential AIPRO competitors from replicating the same success NCDOT has with Piedmont service by using mostly Heritage equipment.