TRANSPORTATION

Amtrak Picks Bombardier to Build High-Speed Train: A group led by Canada’s Bombardier Inc. will build the United States’ first high-speed passenger trains. Bombardier and GEC Alsthom of France will build the 150-mph train, called the American Flyer, based on the technology used to build France’s TGV trains. It will cost $754 million, before finance charges, to build the trains, said Amtrak spokesman Cliff Black. Bombardier and GEC will lend Amtrak $611 million of that, he said. Bombardier and GEC beat out a group led by Siemens of Germany, which built Germany’s high-speed ICE trains, for the contract. The new trains will begin service in 1999, replacing the current Metroliners in the Northeast. The announcement had been eagerly awaited by advocates for train travel, who have been calling for the United States to build a technologically advanced rail system.