Connected and self-driving vehicles are on the horizon. Autonomous taxis and minibuses could cover the last mile between homes and public mass transit and long-distance transport hubs, helping make private cars superfluous in cities and relieving congestion. In rail transport as well, fully automated systems and connectivity can help satisfy the rapidly growing demand for mobility. Making vehicles and infrastructure more intelligent can ensure better availability and make mobility safer. All this adds up to vastly improved urban environments.Siemens is working with municipalities, public transit authorities and research institutes to develop these transport concepts.
Labeled as the project of the century for the German metropolitan region, the Rhine-Ruhr express (RRX) will help alleviate the continuously worsening transportation issues along the Rhine and Ruhr from 2018. The municipalities involved in the new RRX rail transport concept commissioned Siemens to supply 82 electric multiple units, type Desiro HC, and to provide maintenance services for a period of 32 years. With a total volume of more than 1.7 billion euros, this is the largest regional rail service order in Germany so far for Siemens.The region is one of the largest conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately ten million and numerous transit routes. On the main section between Cologne and Dortmund in particular, mobility has been heavily restricted for years now by overstretched public transport networks and train connections. Through a targeted extension of the railway network and the shift of traffic from road to rail this enables, the RRX is expected to replace roughly 31,000 individual car trips every working day. The first RRX trains will begin operating punctually with the change of the rail system's timetable on December 9, 2018. Commercial operation will begin on Line RE 11 that connects Düsseldorf, Essen, Dortmund, Hamm, Paderborn and Kassel. During rush hours the eventual target is one train every 15 minutes.
The breath-taking rise of Bangkok to become a leading business center in Asia created a basic challenge for the city to ensure the mobility of millions of people. Before 1999, people used to take a bus, motorcycle or taxi for almost 80 per cent of their daily travel needs. This created congestion in large parts of Bangkok's infrastructure, making traffic jams a daily occurrence. The travel speed in downtown Bangkok was usually less than ten kilometers per hour. This not only affected the mobility of the commuters but had also an impact on the quality of life. Without a working rapid transit and mainline traffic concept, Thailand's capital was bound to grind to a standstill.
Bane NOR, the state-owned agency responsible for the Norwegian national railway infrastructure, has contracted Siemens to upgrade the signaling equipment of the entire Norwegian rail network to the European Train Control System (ETCS). Commissioning of the rollout lines is scheduled to be completed by 2034. The contract also includes services for 25 years and is worth around 800 million euros in total.
Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has ordered a total of 189 Desiro ML regional trains from Siemens. The trains will operate under the name "Cityjet".The trains will be produced at the Siemens Mobility plants in Krefeld, Germany, and Graz, Austria, and final assembly will take place at ÖBB's Technical Services factory in Jedlersdorf, Austria.Two design alternatives of the Desiro ML are built: the urban train design for large metropolitan areas such as Vienna and the regional train design. The ÖBB cityjet also offers a variable, low-floor seating arrangement as well as spacious entrance and intercar gangway areas, an attractive, innovative design and maximum riding comfort, and barrier-free entrance to all 550-mm station platforms in Austria.Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Siemens Mobility are jointly investing in the future of passenger transport and are developing an electro-hybrid battery drive for trains. Operating as a battery-powered train, the Cityjet eco is an alternative for non-electrified rail lines primarily served at present with diesel-powered passenger trains. Battery operation can reduce CO2emissions by up to 50 percent compared to diesels. Following extensive testing of the prototype train, it is expected to first be used in passenger service in the second half of 2019.On August 26, the joint project reached its next milestone: The battery driven EMU got the homologation and is starting passenger service beginning of September 2019, bringing more sustainability to non-electrified tracks in Austria.
In September 2012, Munich city utility company (SWM) was the first customer to order the new Avenio for the light rail network of the MVG (Munich transport company). In the meantime, SWM has continually expanded its Avenio fleet.