SIEMENS

It was railroads that made it possible for the North American continent to be settled in the 19th century. Those pioneering days are long gone, however—and unlike in Europe or China, trains offer no real alternative to planes in the U.S. today. This is set to change, however, as U.S. President Barack Obama plans to invest $13 billion to improve the country's rail network, in particular by building new high-speed routes. The U.S. government's stimulus package will provide $8 billion of the total, with the remaining $5 billion to be added over the next five years. A recent study carried out by Siemens highlights the benefits the planned rail network expansion can offer. The infrastructure project could create up to 145,000 new jobs in the regions surrounding Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando, and Albany—and businesses located there could generate as much as $19 billion in additional annual revenue as a result. The study focused on these four metropolitan areas because they are considered representative for the country in terms of size, location, and economic conditions.

Expanding the U.S. rail network is expected to also boost economic productivity by reducing travel costs and time. And it would enable specialists from industry and university research centers to meet more often—an indispensable competitive factor even in the digital age. Innovative industries and new residential and recreational areas would establish themselves more easily near new train stations, leading to an increase in offices, hotels, and technology parks. In addition to creating jobs, the expansion would also stimulate the tourism industry. Not to be forgotten is the fact that rail network expansion would reduce CO₂ emissions by as much as 2.8 million tons per year.

“High-speed rail transport is the most efficient and environmentally-friendly way to strengthen the economies in these U.S. regions,” says Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of Siemens' Mobility Division. “We see ourselves as a market leader, and we're prepared to expand our production facility in Sacramento in order to meet demand for fast, state-of-the-art trains.”

All sustainable transportation policies focus on shifting the lion's share of freight and passenger transport from roads to environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Siemens is relying here on “Complete Mobility,” which involves the intelligent networking of rail, road, and air traffic flows. “There's no other company in the world besides Siemens that can offer all of that from a single source,” says Grundmann. “From power supply to rail and road traffic control systems, rail vehicles for local, regional, and long-distance transport, and even a broad range of solutions for airports—we've got all the required products and expertise.” Such networking, which is made possible by technologies for sensor, telematics, and communication systems, can be promoted with relatively modest services, such as providing drivers with targeted information on Park+Ride facilities, avoiding traffic jams, and providing real-time train departure times (see article "Destination: Energy Savings"). While Europe and the U.S. are focusing mainly on modernization of infrastructure and harmonizing solutions, China, India, and the Tiger Countries are concerned with major expansions and efficient, new infrastructures. “The average traveling speed for cars in many large Asian cities is currently less than ten kilometers per hour,” says Grundmann. That shows just how important it is to expand commuter rail and subway networks. Siemens offers solutions in this area as well. The company plans to hand over a turnkey rail system in Delhi by 2012, for example, and is providing everything from the rail vehicles to complete electrification and signaling systems, as well as system integration solutions—all from a single source.

China wants to expand its nationwide rail network from a total length of 86,000 to 120,000 km and ensure that ten percent of the network will be able to accommodate high-speed trains. In order to achieve this goal, the country will invest more than $250 billion between now and 2012 in the construction of 42 high-speed routes. A train boasting what is currently the world's highest average speed (350 km/h) recently began operating in China. The Harmony Express requires only three hours to travel the 1,000 km between Wuhan and Guangzhou.Russia is also expanding its rail network, especially for freight trains to move its abundant raw materials, among other things. The country will invest up to $500 billion in the modernization of its rail system between now and 2030. Plans include high-speed routes and the establishment of links to areas rich in natural resources. The latter will require procurement of one million freight cars and 20,000 locomotives, as some of the locomotives used today were built in the 1920s and 1930s.

The huge increase in transport and traffic volume around the world is also having an effect on the automotive sector. Germany plans to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2020, and the U.S. wants to reach that figure by 2015. China is now investing €2 billion in pilot projects involving thousands of electric cars. Siemens is also very active in the field of electric mobility, offering everything from intelligent energy and traffic infrastructure solutions to battery charging technologies and high-performance IT systems, as well as conducting research into the required drive system technologies (see article "High-Speed Insight").

For the most part, electric vehicles will be operated in cities. Simply electrifying existing vehicles won't be enough. For one thing, electric cars must connect to power grids in order to recharge their batteries. What's needed therefore is a sustainable and standardized infrastructure suitable for the mass market. The various modes of transport also need to be reorganized and coordinated with one another—in other words, we need “Complete Mobility.”