Amtrak paint schemes
Amtrak has used a variety of paint schemes (liveries) on its rolling stock since taking over intercity passenger rail service in the United States in 1971.
Phases primarily use geometric arrangements of red, white, and blue—the national colors of the United States—part of Amtrak's patriotic visual identity.
To build the brand of Amtrak as a unified passenger railroad, the rolling stock was gradually repainted into a new system-wide livery starting around 1972.
Successive liveries are known as Phases and are sequentially numbered using Roman numerals – a nomenclature that began with model railroaders and was later officially adopted by Amtrak.
Non-revenue equipment uses bright lime green or a variation of Phase V. Some routes financially supported by individual states use service-specific liveries to provide a more regionalized distinction.
Amtrak has repainted equipment in unique livery for special uses, including its 40th anniversary in 2011 and to promote the Operation Lifesaver safety campaign.
When Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, it inherited a collection of rolling stock from twenty different railroads, each with its own distinct colors and logos.
Phase schemes generally have red, white, and blue on the sides of equipment, with black or gray sections around the wheels and roof to hide grime.
[6] The scheme was part of Amtrak's larger move to a visual identity featuring the national colors of red, white, and blue.
Most passenger cars were essentially unchanged from Phase I, except for the removal of the chevron logo; new Sightseer lounges had a higher stripe with an angled transition on each end.
[6] This scheme was introduced "for safety, graphic aid and saving money", as the white band was highly reflective and provided a place for car information, and the standard widths made better use of raw material.
[6] On Dash 8-32BWH locomotives, a deeper blue and red was used; the stripes had additional pinstripes and angled upward across the middle of the body.
[13]: 111 In October 2013, Amtrak introduced a new variant of Phase III with the production of the new Viewliner II cars, the first of which entered service in 2015.
[6] In January 2016, Amtrak revealed a P32AC-DM that was repainted into Phase III, similar to that of the heritage units Nos.
[15] Beginning in 1993, Phase IV was introduced as a striking departure from the traditional red, white, and blue style seen previously.
[6]: 17 Phase V was introduced with the arrival of the Acela Express high-speed train sets in 2000 and is currently used on most locomotives.
[17] Phase VII, introduced in 2022, is the latest livery for most Amtrak equipment, debuting on the Siemens Charger ALC-42 locomotives.
The three routes under the Amtrak California brand — the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner, and San Joaquins — use equipment painted in several custom schemes.
[6][13]: 114, 138 The Charger locomotives are painted in the same shape as the Northern California units but using the Pacific Surfliner color scheme.
457 in a special scheme to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Pacific Surfliner and the train's ridership surpassing 25 million.
[6][13]: 118, 140 The scheme was created by industrial designer Cesar Vergara, who also styled the GE Genesis locomotive.
[28] Amtrak Airo trainsets for the Cascades, expected to enter service in 2026, will have a primarily dark green paint scheme.
[30] One trainset was originally painted in blue, silver, and white for a Los Angeles-Las Vegas service that was never implemented.
[33] The Charger SC-44 locomotives used on the nine Amtrak Midwest routes (Borealis, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Missouri River Runner, Wolverine, Blue Water, and Pere Marquette) have a blue front with a halftone transition into the gray side, with a red sill stripe.
[34] Siemens Venture passenger cars for the services have a matching gray scheme with halftone blue transitions at the end of the window level, with a wider red sill stripe.
The locomotive was painted black; the Chevron "pointless arrow" logo on each side wrapped around the front with blue and white safety stripes.
From January through April 2011, Amtrak's Beech Grove Shops outside Indianapolis repainted the units and sent them north on the Hoosier State to Chicago, where they were cycled into regular service on other routes.
[6] In 1997, Amtrak bought 50 rebuilt 50-foot (15 m) boxcars to supplement its newly built 60-foot (18 m) Express Box Car fleet.
Customers have included fast food restaurants, auto manufacturers, television networks, and politicians.
