Cost efficiency and environmental compatibility: Complete Mobility

“Urbanization” and “Demographic Change” are two of the big challenges that we face in the 21st century. A United Nations study estimates that two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2030.

Climate change, health issues, bottlenecks in the logistics chains in public and freight transport are the risks that we can expect from such exponential regional and urban growth.

Siemens has answered these challenges with its Mobility Division. Mobility offers a wide range of efficient, reliable and safe infrastructure solutions for public and freight transport and for logistics services. The Division’s “Complete Mobility” approach enables Siemens to focus on the intelligent networking of different transportation modes – both existing ones and new ones – in order to move people and goods more efficiently. These products, systems and services will take center stage at InnoTrans 2008, the international trade fair for transport systems taking place in Berlin from September 23 to 26, 2008.

The demand for mobility solutions is rising worldwide. Right now, the European Union is losing an estimated 100 billion euros due to traffic congestion alone! Intelligent solutions are clearly needed. Take London, for example: first commuter train services were increased and then a congestion charge was introduced for motor vehicles. This is a good template for other rapidly growing cities, too – cities that will soon have to accommodate two-thirds of the world’s population in the not too distant future. Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of Siemens’ Mobility Division is optimistic about the future:

“This highly dynamic market is a big opportunity for us. It is growing and we’re doing everything to be in the thick of the action.”

The way forward is intelligent products and services for urban and regional transport networks, for freight traffic, logistics and automation. Siemens is the only company to adopt such an integrated approach so far because it has the necessary expertise to do so: for everything from operations control systems for rail and road traffic through traction power supply and rolling stock for mass transit, regional rail and mainline services to airport logistics and postal automation systems. Thus the Division has an unbeatable unique selling point: no other player anywhere in the world can offer such a comprehensive portfolio of products and services ranging across so many different sectors.

Mass transit: the life blood of the city

Not only are transport volumes increasing in the cities, but also the requirements on urban transportation systems are changing as demographics change. Consequently, high transport capacities for urban transit require quick boarding and exiting times. Capacities can be adapted to changing demand by means of automatic, driverless metro systems. Some of the latest projects in the Mobility Division are: Metro Line 10 in Beijing, which connects the different facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games, and the São Paulo Metro in Brazil, which is the first automated and driverless metro on the American continent. And it was only very recently that the first fully automated metro – known as the RUBIN – got under way in Germany. The RUBIN is the first metro worldwide to operate jointly with conventionally driven trains on the same line section. Indeed, it will serve as model for successive upgrading and modernization of metro systems globally to automated service. Siemens is the only supplier to date which has realized this type of project.

Rail takes flight

Wide-area railway networks and flight routes provide quick and reliable connections between cities and urban centers. Innovations in high speed transportation systems have cut journey times between conurbations. The Velaro is a prime example of this.

Since January, it has been traveling at speeds of 300 kilometers per hour between Madrid and Barcelona in Spain and makes the trip in 2 hours and 38 minutes. Every day twenty of these trains run in each direction – each with an occupancy level of 70.1 percent – and achieve punctuality ratings as high as 99.2 percent. Tests are to take place soon to certify train operation at a speed of 350 km/h. Spain will then have the fastest train in the world.

Such railway networks on their own are not enough, however. The train may be the most widely used mode of public transportation in Germany, but only every tenth journey goes across national borders. Indeed, cross-border operation is still in need of technological optimization that caters to the different national train control systems, traction power supplies, track gauges and operating requirements. The situation clearly calls for interoperable solutions which are fit for the future. And so it was a Siemens locomotive that was certified at the end of 2007 to run as the first electric model on the prestigious Betuwe Line in the Netherlands. Since then, it has been used regularly in cross-border traffic, carrying freight from Rotterdam in Holland to Duisburg in Germany.

The design concept behind this electric Eurosprinter and the diesel-electric locomotive Eurorunner is really groundbreaking. As platform products, they can be delivered much more quickly than comparable traction units. Siemens will be displaying the locomotive for Belgium at this year’s InnoTrans. It truly represents the new generation of Siemens locomotives.

Efficient freight transport

Cross-border transport without time loss such as on the Betuwe Line, cost-efficiency and environmental compatibility: these are the key factors for efficient freight logistics. But this is only possible if other transportation modes are integrated into the transport network. The restructuring of Siemens Mobility and, in particular, the formation of the new Business Units Infrastructure Logistics (IL) and Traffic Solutions (TS) show that Siemens is forging ahead in this direction: namely, toward innovative rail-based transportation systems that will also go hand in hand with new logistics, scheduling and management systems in future. What’s needed is a holistic solution approach such as that offered by Complete Mobility, which can intelligently link up the different transportation systems with one another.

The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the worldwide leading supplier of production, transportation and building technologies.

With integrated hardware and software technologies as well as comprehensive Industry-specific solutions, Siemens increases the productivity and efficiency of its customers in the fields of industry and infrastructure. The Sector consists of six divisions: Building Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility, Drive Technologies and OSRAM. With around 209,000 employees worldwide Siemens Industry achieved in fiscal 2007 total sales of approximately EUR40 billion (pro forma, unconsolidated).

The Siemens Mobility Division (Erlangen, Germany) is the internationally leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions. With its “Complete Mobility” approach, the Division is focused on networking the various modes of transportation in order to ensure the efficient transport of people and goods. Complete Mobility combines the company's competence in operations control systems for railways and traffic control systems for roadways together with solutions for airport logistics, postal automation, traction power supplies and rolling stock for mass transit, regional and mainline services, as well as forward-looking service concepts.

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Anja Suessner Siemens Industry Mobility

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