AMTRAK

To support record ridership, AMTRAK—the nation’s intercity passenger rail provider and only high-speed rail operator— must maintain, refurbish, and modernize its fleet of passenger rail cars. AMTRAK’s engineers had used 2D design tools, including CADKey® and AutoCAD® software, until 1999. That’s when engineering management determined that 3D tools were necessary for taking the rail company’s transportation offerings into the 21st century.

After evaluating available 3D systems, AMTRAK chose SolidWorks® software, implementing 25 licenses, and later adding licenses of SolidWorks Simulation and SolidWorks Enterprise PDM software. AMTRAK selected SolidWorks because of its ease of use, compatibility with legacy 2D data, and integrated analysis and PDM (product data management) applications. By choosing SolidWorks, AMTRAK increased design productivity by 60 percent, realized time savings of 40 percent, improved management of 500,000 design files, and reduced design errors and quality issues.