Siemens - Articles and news items

Siemens eco-friendly trains for Austria

Rail industry news / 20 April 2010 /

Siemens has reached an agreement with Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) on the supply of up to 200 regional passenger trains over the next five years. During that period, ÖBB will be able to call for delivery of Desiro ML type multiple-units that are specially equipped to meet the needs of the operator. (more…)

Israel Railways places additional order for Siemens coaches

Rail industry news / 10 March 2010 /

Israel Railways Corporation Ltd. has just ordered 31 passenger coaches worth EUR47 million from Siemens Mobility. These Viaggio Light type cars are to be deployed in passenger service to enable the operation of the new line linking Tel Aviv with its suburb Rishon Le-Zion. Four years ago Siemens Mobility succeeded in establishing itself in the Israeli railway equipment market with its first order from Israel Railways for 87 passenger coaches that included an option for another 585 cars. This new order is taking up an initial portion of that option. (more…)

Spotlight on Shields Depot, Glasgow

Issue 4 2009, Past issues / 21 July 2009 /

Rail travel has been growing in Scotland with more than 20% growth since 2004 and, as a result, government agency Transport Scotland is funding a major enhancement programme for the rail network in Scotland.

As a part of this programme, 38 new Class 380 trains will be delivered between September 2010 and spring 2011, adding some 9,000 seats to the Scottish rail network at a cost of approximately £200 million.

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Investing in rolling stock for future performance

Issue 2 2009, Past issues / 26 March 2009 /

Train operating companies obviously need reliable and robust rolling stock in order to provide efficient and effective services to their passengers. This is of course an obvious fact to point out, but an imperative issue nonetheless.

Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) needs no introduction in this German Profile issue of European Railway Review, but the company has made many recent orders for new rolling stock and I think it is important to take this opportunity to highlight the important investments that the company is making to ensure their passenger services are first class.

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Velaro E conquers high-speed in Spain

Issue 4 2008, Past issues / 1 August 2008 /

This article describes how the Velaro E meets the challenging requirements of the high-speed service in Spain, especially regarding reliability, safety and passenger appeal.

In 2001 and 2005, Spanish National Railways (Renfe) placed two orders with Siemens for the delivery of a total 26 high-speed trainsets as part of their programme for the development of the high-speed rail services in Spain. The first order marked the start of the development, design and production of Siemens’ new high-speed product platform Velaro® and made the most comfortable and fastest train in Europe become reality, the Velaro for Spain (Velaro E; Renfe’s class AVE S 103). An important milestone in high-speed traffic in Spain was reached on  20 February 2008, with the opening of  the 621km-long line between Madrid and Barcelona. The successful start of the passenger service between the two most important Spanish cities represented a groundbreaking milestone in the consequent development of the Siemens platform for high-speed trains. With a total travel time of less than 2 hours and 30 minutes and the exceptional service on board, the Velaro E is offering a really attractive alternative to airlines. As a result, high-speed train service will very soon be a strong competitor to the world’s busiest air route and the first months of operation have already given evidence that the Velaro E high-speed shuttle will become a serious competitor to the Spanish airlines. (more…)

HSL-Zuid: high-speed importance

Issue 2 2008, Past issues / 8 April 2008 /

European cities are linked by an increasing amount of high-speed transport routes that satisfy growing demand for mobility. Ecological and economical/political aspects are also of immense importance to the expansion of the European high-speed transport network.

The Netherlands’ connection to the high-speed network takes Europe another step closer to a form of safe, reliable and border-free mobility, satisfying very stringent ecological and economic requirements.

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Success and growth – the ÖBB way

Issue 4 2007, Past issues / 30 July 2007 /

ÖBB is on the way to renewal – and on the way to European achievement. One thing is clear to all members of the Group; ÖBB must be fit for European competition. This will require extensive work in major activities – ranging from the new main railway station of Vienna (the most important Central European transport hub of the future), to making sure they are number one on the Eastern and South-eastern European goods transport market. Some areas have already been achieved, but other areas remain incomplete. (more…)

High-speed trains: from power car to distributed traction

Issue 3 2007, Past issues / 6 June 2007 /

Over recent years, the level of satisfaction among train passengers has continually increased thanks to new attractions offered by high speed trains. Attractive travel times and additional services in the trains are designed to increase the competitiveness of the rail. Building on experience with the trains of the ICE series that were developed by a consortium, Siemens has been able to establish the Velaro platform at a worldwide level with trains for Spain, China and Russia. In addition to the high speed trains for upgraded lines, it can make perfect sense to operate passenger coaches.

With the increasing requirements for mobility, the significance of rail traffic has increased in the past years. Congestion on the roads, combined with growing environmental awareness and emphasis on safety, is causing more and more people to use the rail alternative. In order to further increase the competitiveness of the railway, short travel times must be supplemented by an attractive interior design of the trains.

With its portfolio of high speed trains of the Velaro platform and the passenger coaches of the Viaggio family, Siemens offers the perfect train concept for the different requirements of the railway operators. (more…)

The SF 500 high-speed bogie

Issue 3 2007, Past issues / 6 June 2007 /

The Velaro E from Siemens Transportation Systems is the fastest series-produced train in the world. One of the reasons why the ‘supertrain’ is so successful, is due to the SF 500 high-speed bogie developed and produced in Graz. It sets new standards in terms of flexibility of use, passenger comfort and life-cycle costs.

In the middle of this year, the Velaro E, Spain’s latest high-speed train, will be put into service. The eight-unit trainset, designated the AVE® S103, will complete the 635km long route between Madrid and Barcelona in less than two and a half hours. During the process, operational speeds of 350km/h will be reached. During tests on the Iberian peninsula, vehicles from the same production series have even reached top speeds of over 400km/h. One of the key components for this outstanding performance from the Velaro platform is the SF 500 high-speed running gear. (more…)

Rolling stock orders for DB

Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 3 April 2007 /

In the middle years of this decade, the German rolling stock market was quiet. The big post-reunification boom in orders in the 1990s was followed by a lull, as the German government sought to rein in public spending and prepare Deutsche Bahn AG for privatisation.

The quietening of the market was reflected in the figures for Siemens Transportation Systems, the large German railway equipment manufacturer, where the home market accounted for over a third of sales in 2003. By 2006, this proportion had dropped below 15% as Asia and other regions grew in importance while Germany stagnated.

However, the German market is now experiencing a modest rebound, with the regional sector particularly strong. Illustrating this was an order confirmed with Bombardier Transportation on 19 February 2007, when DB signed a framework contract for the supply of 321 new Talent 2 electric multiple-unit trains to be used on the regional network throughout Germany. This order is valued at approximately €1.2 billion and deliveries will begin in 2009.

The Talent multiple-unit is a standard Bombardier design, with more than 450 trains in service in Germany, Norway, Austria and Canada. Trains vary from two to six cars in length, with different propulsion power options available, depending on the number of driven axles. There are up to two swing-plug doors on each side of the car and the internal layout can be altered to suit operator needs.

More EMUs

Orders continue to be placed for suburban EMUs. A consortium of Bombardier and Alstom Transport won an order worth €343 milion at the close of 2005 for 78×4-car EMUs for the Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn, with an option for a further 72 units. The trains are due to be delivered between March 2008 and October 2010.

All 312 bodies are to be manufactured at Alstom’s Salzgitter plant, as are 156 end bogies. Also, 51 sets will be assembled there. Bombardier is drawing on factories from across Germany for its share of the order: electrical equipment will come from Mannheim and articulated bogies from Siegen, while Hennigsdorf (Berlin) will assemble 27 sets.

Meanwhile, an option was exercised last year for additional Class ET 425.2 four-car electric multiple units. DB signed a Euro 362 million framework agreement with a consortium of Bombardier and Siemens in 2001 which entailed the delivery of more than 80 of these trains.

The new call-off, worth €63 million, is for 13 additional trains: these are intended for suburban rail transport in the Hannover region, and are scheduled to be delivered from mid-2008. They should go into passenger service with the new timetable in December 2008.

As the consortium leader, Bombardier will manufacture nine of these Class 425.2 trains, while Siemens will build the remaining four. For its share of the contract, Bombardier will undertake the construction of the car bodies and final assembly of the trains at its site in Hennigsdorf; the bogies will be manufactured in Siegen, while the electrical fittings for the nine trains will be produced by the firm’s facility in Mannheim. The Siemens trains will be manufactured at that company’s Krefeld plant.

A total of 236 multiple-units from the 425 Series have been delivered since March 2000 and they are in operation in the regions of Hannover, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Essen, Magdeburg, Trier, Saarbrücken and Cologne. The Class 425s have a maximum speed of 140km/h and can accommodate 433 passengers, 204 of which seated. The four-car units are 67.5 metres long and 2.84 metres wide, and have an entry height of 798 mm.

Double-deckers

Double-deckers were produced in factories in the former East Germany for many years and following reunification and the plants’ acquisition by Bombardier, suburban double-deckers have become a staple in that firm’s catalogue. DB operates a total of more than 1,400 Bombardier double-deck coaches, and Bombardier double-deckers are also in service in Israel, Denmark and Luxembourg.

DB placed an order last October for 42 more double-deck vehicles, which was valued at about €57 million. This represents the third option in a 2003 framework agreement that included an order for 298 double-deck coaches and options on another 300 vehicles. Delivery of the 298 double-deck coaches of the base contract is nearly completed, and another 49 vehicles were ordered in 2005 and 2006. The new vehicles are to be delivered during the second half of 2008.

The double-deckers will be built at Bombardier’s Görlitz site, while the Siegen plant will supply the bogies. Most of the 12 cab and 30 trailer cars of this Deutsche Bahn order will go into service on the Taunus route in Frankfurt-am-Main; three cab cars are envisaged for operation in South Hesse.

Concessionaires

The local lines for which regional government is responsible have been generating a steady trickle of orders. Manufacturers have been scoring with orders for lightweight multiple-units.

A recent example is an order for 25×4-car Flirt electric multiple-units won by the Pankow (Berlin) factory of Swiss manufacturer Stadler. Angel Trains Europa, the Continental arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s rolling stock leasing subsidiary, is financing this €100 million order. The trains will be brought into service from the end of next year onwards by Keolis, which has the concession to operate regional services around Hamm.

Another company being supplied with rolling stock by Angel is trans regio Deutsche Regionalbahn GmbH, which signed a contract in January 2007 for the Mittelrheinbahn concession, a rail service on the scenic route between Mainz and Cologne. The concession will commence in December 2008 and will run for 15 years.

For the Mittelrheinbahn Angel is purchasing 16 Desiro ML electric multiple-units, worth approximately €70 million, from Siemens Transportation Systems. Work will commence on manufacturing the trains in July at Siemens’ works in Krefeld. The agreement between Siemens and Angel Trains includes an option for a further 84 trains.

This latest order takes the total fleet of passenger trains now managed or ordered by Angel Trains Europa, the Cologne-based German subsidiary of Angel Trains, to over 220 units altogether, comprising 60 electric multiple-units.

Regional trains for DB

DB’s regional arm, DB Regio AG, has ordered 37 Coradia Lirex trains worth €160 million from Alstom Transport. This order includes an option for up to 42 additional trains. The electric multiple-units will be manufactured at Alstom’s site in Salzgitter and are planned to be delivered between mid-2008 and the end of 2011.

These trains will enable DB Regio AG to renew its train fleet on the Augsburg network in Bavaria. They will enter service from December 2008 onwards and serve the Munich-Augsburg-Ulm and the Augsburg-Donauwörth-Aalen/Treuchtlignen lines. The first Coradia Lirex trains were introduced in 2002, and Alstom has sold a total of 108 trains of this type in Europe (71 of them to Stockholm, Sweden).

The Nordic rolling stock market

Issue 3 2006, Past issues / 31 May 2006 /

A steady succession of small rolling stock orders is keeping interest alive in the Nordic market.A decade ago, the Nordic countries were seen as a beacon of hope by Europe’s rolling stock manufacturers,with some large replacement orders coming up.

But those orders are now behind us, with the Italian manufacturer Ansaldo-Breda winning many of them at competitive prices. Finland, Norway and Denmark (this article excludes Sweden) all boast modern fleets and the orders coming up are tending to be in niche areas of the market. (more…)