Deutsche Bahn
(DB) and Siemens Mobility are driving forward the climate-friendly transition
in transport and are testing the use of hydrogen for rail for the first time.
The aim is to test a completely new overall system consisting of a newly
developed train and a newly designed filling station.
Estonian Railways (Eesti Raudtee) and Siemens Mobility – GRK Rail
Consortium signs a large-scale contract to modernize the railways in Estonia.
Estonian Railways has initiated a very ambitious investment plan which
will take the service quality, traffic management and safety of its rail infrastructure
to a new level by 2030. Between 2020 and 2024 it plans to upgrade the safety
systems on six lines of the rail network and upgrade approximately 50 stations
across the country. To deliver this modernization of the rail safety systems
(CCS), the contract is worth over € 115 million.
The agreement on modernizing the safety systems paves the way for
migrating the entire rail network to the European signalling standard, the
European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS / ETCS) in the future. The
agreement relates to the first and second phases of the modernization plan.
Migrating to ERTMS/ETCS is subject to the third phase.
Siemens Mobility is presenting the new Mireo Smart train. It enables operators to quickly expand their capacity and ensures profitable operation thanks to its attractive price, low maintenance costs and very high degree of reliability.
Siemens Mobility's Vectron locomotives are used for both freight and passenger service. During the development of the locomotive, the focus was on providing a future-proof design, investment security, environmental compatibility, fungibility, retrofitting capability and convertibility. The Vectron can be delivered as a purely electrical version for operating with alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power systems as well as a multisystem (MS) variant in the power classes 5.2 MW, 5.6 MW and 6.4 MW. Along with the desired national train control system, the locomotives can also be equipped with the latest European Train Control System (ETCS). The locomotives are built in the Siemens Mobility plant in Munich-Allach, Germany. The first Vectron was delivered in 2012. Siemens Mobility has sold over 1,000 Vectrons to date to a total of 49 customers. The Vectron fleet has accumulated more than 300 million kilometers of service so far. The locomotives are currently certified for operation in 19 countries. For freight transport in Germany, Siemens Mobility also offers the Smartron standard locomotive and the Vectron Dual Mode, a combination of diesel and electric locomotive.
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.
Less
diesel, less CO2, even greener: DB Cargo is renewing its fleet of shunting and
mainline locomotives and is procuring new Vectron Dual Mode dual-power
locomotives from Siemens Mobility. The framework agreement comprises up to 400
vehicles and investment volume corresponds to well over one billion Euros.
The locomotives
of the type Vectron Dual Mode will be delivered with specific adaptations for
the range of applications planned by DB Cargo. The locomotives can be operated
both with diesel and electric power.
In the
first instance, DB Cargo will order 100 locomotives of the class 248. Delivery
will start in 2023.
The German operator
Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG) has ordered a new tram fleet for the Free
Hanseatic City. The order is for 77 Avenio trams. The four-section trains are
to be delivered step by step for service in Bremen's tram network beginning in
the summer of 2020. On August 30, the "Nordlicht" was presented online.
Beginning in 2022, DB
will expand its mainline fleet with 30 new high-speed trains. Deutsche Bahn has
awarded the billion-euro order to Siemens Mobility. DB called for tenders at
the end of 2019 when the federal government announced it would be reducing the
value-added tax on mainline rail tickets as of the beginning of 2020.