The Venture trainsets came in response to an order from a 2014 order from All Aboard Florida for its new Brightline corridor service. All Aboard Florida purchased five trainsets of four passenger coaches along with ten Siemens Charger SCB-40 diesel-electric locomotives which will be placed on each end of a trainset. The design studio, the LAB at Rockwell Group, was contracted to adapt the design for the North American market. The trainsets were based on the Siemens Viaggio Comfort trainsets used in Europe. They were built at the Siemens factory in Florin, California starting in July 2015 and the first trainset was completed in December 2016. Public operations began on 13 January 2018.In November 2017, the state of California announced that it would be ordering 137 Venture railcars through its contractor Sumitomo Corporation. The states had initially contracted Sumitomo, which in turn subcontracted with Nippon Sharyo, to build the Next Generation Bi-Level Passenger Rail Car, but a prototype car failed a buff strength test in August 2015. After the test failure, canceled its deal with Nippon Sharyo, and turned to Siemens to be the new subcontractor. The order includes 49 cars for California, formed into seven semi-permanently-coupled trainsets and 54 cars for the Midwest states, formed into 34 married pairs and 20 single coaches. Similarly to Railjet, these cars will be hauled by an existing fleet of locomotives, this time the Siemens Charger SC-44 diesel-electric locomotive. The first three cars were completed in February 2020 and went into testing. The first trainset is supposed to go into revenue service in July 2020. On December 12, 2018, Canada's national passenger rail service operator, Via Rail, announced that it was purchasing 32 Venture trainsets to replace the entire fleet used on its Québec City–Windsor Corridor. Each new trainset will consist of a five passenger coaches paired with a Siemens Charger SCB-40 diesel-electric locomotive. The first trainset is to be delivered for testing in 2021, with the first sets in service in 2022 and all trains in service by 2024. In August 2019, the state of Wisconsin ordered six coaches and three cab cars, for use on the Hiawatha Service, paid for with a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. The additional coaches will be added to the pool of equipment used by the Midwest states. The cab/coach cars will be used exclusively on the Hiawatha Service.
Trainsets
Most Siemens Venture railcars are configured into semi-permanently coupled trainsets with open gangway-style connections between cars but with standard couplers on the outer ends of the trainset for connecting the trainset to locomotives or other railway equipment. The Amtrak Midwest equipment is an exception, and is divided into smaller semi-permanently coupled married pairs that can be assembled into a trainset using conventional AAR couplers.
Virgin Trains USA trainsets
A Virgin Trains USA trainset consists of four semi-permanently-coupled coaches: three coaches with "Smart" economy seating and one with "Select" premium seating. Each trainset is paired with a Siemens Charger SCB-40 diesel-electric locomotive on each end. Once the route to Orlando is in operation, the trainsets will be expanded to seven coaches, and five more complete trainsets will be purchased. The "Select" coaches offers 2x1 and four-to-a-table seating with 50 -wide seats per car and complimentary snacks and beverages, while the slightly less expensive "Smart" fare coaches seat 66 with narrower -wide seats, with snacks and beverages available for purchase. Each trainset is able to hold 248 passengers.
The California Department of Transportation has ordered seven trainsets for the San Joaquins service with seven cars each: four coaches with economy seating, two coaches with economy seating and vending machines, and one cab car with economy seating. The order includes 49 cars for California, formed into seven semi-permanently-coupled trainsets. Since Siemens Venture trainsets were originally designed to be used with high platforms, two cars per trainset will have built-in wheelchair lifts in order to maintain accessibility with the low platforms used in California. The cab car and two other cars per trainset will have one vestibule per car, while the remaining cars will have two vestibules each.
Amtrak Midwest trainsets
The US states of Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin have ordered 97 cars to be used on their passenger rail corridors: Blue Water, Hiawatha Service, Illini/Saluki, Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg, Lincoln Service, Missouri River Runner, Pere Marquette, and Wolverine, collectively called "Amtrak Midwest." Uniquely among Siemens Venture trainsets, the Midwest trains will be made up of married pairs and 26 individual coaches with traditional gangway connections. The married pairs will consist of 17 café cars mated to 17 economy seating coaches and 17 combination "business class"/economy coaches mated to 17 economy seating coaches. The business class and cafe cars will have two vestibules each, while the coaches will have one. Three cab cars with economy seating have also been ordered and will be used exclusively on Wisconsin's Hiawatha Service. The unique design will allow trainsets to be sized to meet the travel demands of the individual corridors and allow business class seating and café car services to be added or removed.
Via Rail trainsets
Via Rail trainsets will consists of five individual coaches: two coaches with "business class" premium seating, two coaches with economy seating, and one cab car with economy seating. Each trainset will be paired with a single Siemens Charger SCB-40 diesel-electric locomotive on one end.
