Italian Engineering.
American Manufacturing.

A New Era of American Passenger Rail — and Clerprem Is Part of It

The United States is undergoing the most significant transformation of its passenger rail system in decades. Amtrak has reported back-to-back ridership records — 34.5 million passengers in Fiscal Year 2025 alone — and is now executing an $8 billion fleet renewal program that will redefine the onboard experience for millions of travelers across the country.

At the center of this transformation is the new Amtrak Airo trainset, unveiled at Washington Union Station in February 2026 and now entering service on corridors from the Pacific Northwest to the Northeast with Cascades trains. With 83 trainsets planned across the national network, the Airo represents the most ambitious rolling stock renewal in Amtrak's history — built with an explicit focus on passenger comfort, ergonomic seating design, accessibility, and sustainability.

Clerprem has been present in the US railway market well before this new chapter began. As a Tier 1 supplier with a dedicated manufacturing facility in Sacramento, California, the company has positioned itself as a strategic partner for OEMs and operators navigating the demands of next-generation American rail.

Designed in Italy. Built in Sacramento.

The US market demands more than imported components — it requires local presence, local accountability, and the ability to respond rapidly to customer specifications. Clerprem's Sacramento facility is purpose-built to meet these needs: a fully operational production plant that brings Italian engineering and manufacturing precision directly onto American soil.

This dual identity — rooted in over 50 years of Italian design heritage, anchored by American manufacturing capability — makes Clerprem a uniquely positioned partner for US rail projects. Whether the requirement is a fleet-wide seating standard or a fully custom configuration developed in close collaboration with the operator, Clerprem's engineering and production teams work in lockstep from concept to delivery.

What the Next Generation of Rail Demands from a Seating Partner

The Airo and NextGen Cascades programs have raised the bar for what passengers expect on board American trains. Ergonomic support, modular configurations, accessible design, integrated connectivity infrastructure, and sustainable material choices are no longer optional features — they are baseline requirements for any serious seating supplier.

Clerprem's approach combines structural engineering precision — developed across decades of automotive and railway projects in Europe — with an intimate understanding of the operational realities that define North American rail. Every seating system is engineered to withstand the dynamic load cycles, maintenance schedules, and passenger volumes specific to each route and fleet type.

Material selection plays a central role. Aluminum frames, durable technical fabrics, and fully recyclable component architectures are standard practice at Clerprem — not only because sustainability performance is increasingly specified in OEM procurement criteria, but because lighter, longer-lasting systems reduce total lifecycle cost for operators.