Siemens S700 light rail vehicle in San Diego, California.

(Amtrak455, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

SIEMENS MOBILITY

Siemens Mobility is a division of Siemens. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens Mobility has four core business units: Mobility Management, dedicated to rail technology and intelligent traffic systems, Railway Electrification, Rolling Stock, and Customer Services.

History

Innovations from the late 19th century, such as the world's first electric train, when Siemens & Halske unveiled a train in which power was supplied through the rails, and the world's first electric tram, with the implementation of 2.5-km-long electric tramway located in Berlin, built at the company's own expense, cemented the use of electric power in transportation systems.

In the following years, inventions such as the first electric trolleybus, mine locomotives, and the first underground railway in continental Europe (in Budapest), set the path from trams and subways to today's high-speed trains.

Siemens, alongside ThyssenKrupp and Transrapid International, was part of the German consortium that built the Shanghai Maglev, inaugurated in 2002 by the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and the Chinese premier, Zhu Rongji. It was the world's first commercial high-speed magnetic levitation train, which holds the title of the fastest commercial service, travelling up to 430 km/h.

In November 2012, Siemens acquired Invensys Rail for £1.7 billion.

In July 2017, Siemens confirmed it had taken over Hannover-based software company HaCon, to be managed as a separate legal entity. The financial details were not disclosed.

In September 2017, Siemens announced a proposal to merge its transportation division with Alstom, with the objective of creating "a new European champion in the rail industry". The combined rail business, to be named Siemens Alstom and headquartered in Paris, would have had $18 billion U.S. in revenue and employed 62,300 people in more than 60 countries. It was seen as a measure to counter the rise of China's CRRC with support from both the French and German governments. However, in February 2019, the European Commission refused permission for the merger to proceed.

During Innotrans in September 2018, Siemens Mobility unveiled the world's first driverless tram in Berlin, the result of a joint research and development project with ViP Verkehrsbetriebe Potsdam, on a six-km section of the tram network in Potsdam, Germany.

Siemens Mobility AP 220 high-speed trainset. Brightline West rendering.

(Brightline West, Fair use, Title 17, Section 107, via Rail Group News)

New Siemens Plant to Build Brightline West AP 220s

On September 9, 2024, it was announced that Siemens Mobility is building a new plant in Horseheads, NY to manufacture the American Pioneer 220 high-speed trainsets for Brightline West. Described as “North America’s first true high-speed rail production facility,” the new, 300,000-square-foot plant represents an approximately $60 million investment and is expected to employ 300 workers, many of whom will be represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

Source: Rail Group News

Key locations in the U.S.

City	Business Unit	Products
Louisville, Kentucky	Mobility Management	AREMA Rail Technology
New York, NY	Mobility Management, Customer Services	Rail Technology, Digital Services
Sacramento, CA	Rolling Stock	Locomotives: Charger, Sprinter; Light rail vehicles: S200, S700; Railcars: Venture

U.S. Products

Locomotives

Passenger Cars

Venture

Light Rail Vehicles