High-speed rail and AI: Transforming US infrastructure

Editor’s note: In this narrative version of an episode of The Optimistic Outlook, Siemens USA Interim CEO Ann Fairchild sits down with Tobias “Tobi” Bauer, CEO of Siemens Mobility North America, to explore what’s driving renewed momentum across passenger and freight rail in the United States. From modernizing legacy infrastructure to building state-of-the-art trains right here at home, Tobi shares why the outlook for rail has never been more positive as America moves closer to comfortable, safe, 220‑mile‑per‑hour service. In 2021, Siemens Mobility was awarded $3.4 billion in contracts in the United States to design, manufacture and technically support 73 multi-powered trains for Amtrak. Learn more about Siemens Mobility here.

Ann Fairchild

Tobi, there’s a big focus right now on modernizing America’s infrastructure. For example, we’re hearing a lot about the need to reinvent the power grid to support data centers for AI. I know there’s also a lot of excitement in the United States about high‑speed rail, and you share that excitement. What is the state of passenger rail in America, and what trends do you think will define 2026?

Tobias Bauer

There has been talk for decades about bringing true high‑speed rail to the United States. We applaud our partner Brightline West for actually doing it, and we’ve been working with them to build a high‑speed rail connection from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. The trains will be built right here in America, and this will be the most innovative, most modern high‑speed train in the world.

And I’m convinced once the American public feels it—rides the train, sees the comfort, doesn’t sit in traffic jams—they will be excited, and they will see the true value. Then many further projects will follow.

In addition, we need to upgrade. I see that, for example, with Amtrak. If we upgrade the general trains, the experience of intercity travel, and of longer‑distance travel will again convince people to take the train. And that will again bring more investment and more projects. At that point, we will have all the ingredients necessary to roll this out broadly in the United States with the competency of engineering and, of course, our manufacturing workforce.

Ann Fairchild

Help our audience get a sense of what you’re hearing from rail-industry leaders across America.

Tobias Bauer

At Siemens, we feel and we hear excitement. The United States was founded on rail, and there's a lot of infrastructure, whether we talk about freight rail or passenger rail. Siemens is present in 35 cities with our light rail vehicles, with our locomotives, coaches, and, of course, with the infrastructure. The country, however, has an infrastructure that needs to be modernized in order to give the efficiency to the railroads, to the owner operators, and, of course, also to upgrade the passenger experience. So, we see a positive outlook, a very positive outlook.

For example, Siemens has launched the battery-powered locomotives with Metro North in New York. We're working with a Class One on upgrading their dispatch system. We’re strong in the CBTC (communications-based train control) environment. All these efforts are proof that our investment is needed and the impact is there. For example, Amtrak is upgrading their fleet, and we're proudly building the new Airo fleet right here in Sacramento and in Lexington, North Carolina.

Ann Fairchild

Let’s talk specifically about North Carolina and New York. Siemens has invested in new state‑of‑the‑art facilities in both states, making our rail production truly bicoastal. I think this speaks volumes about the growth of passenger rail in the United States. Tell me about the state of train manufacturing in America and the impact industrial technologies are having in this space.

Tobias Bauer

Being an American company, we have all the innovation, the technology, and the competency to design and build our trains right here in the U.S. That includes all the signaling, the electrification—whatever is needed. Speaking specifically about rolling stock, we’ve grown so much over the past decades that we decided to expand operations beyond our Sacramento plant to the East Coast. Why go there? Because we want proximity to our customers and to a potential workforce. One of our goals at Siemens is to fully support the reindustrialization of the United States. We give careers to our people by bringing them into manufacturing, training them, and then giving further career opportunities in industrial engineering.

Ann Fairchild

Across Siemens we’ve been hyper‑focused on industrial AI. What does this mean for trains? How is industrial AI impacting the way we build trains and think about the entire passenger experience? How is it helping us address customer needs and challenges?

Tobias Bauer

It’s imperative to embrace industrial AI. So, first, let me say that we are in the safety industry, meaning that our primary goal is to ensure that our solutions transport people and goods safely. We follow everything needed to ensure that our products are safe, and we’re using industrial AI to assure both quality and safety. That’s number one.

Number two: AI innovation will help to make our products better. We’re using AI to understand how our fleets are performing and how they can be improved. That will create value for owner‑operators, for our customers.

But there’s still a lot of manual work in our engineering and our design. Industrial AI can be a tremendous help to help us streamline our processes. For instance, I want to be able to talk to my factory. Where are my parts? Where can we optimize? Industrial AI plays a role there, because that will ensure that we can fulfill our customer promises. To me, a contract is a promise. And our customers are planning on getting their trains on time or getting their systems up and running on time. We have to do everything we can to deliver quality on time. Industrial AI will be a tremendous help to enhancing our processes, streamlining our processes, and meeting our targets.

Ann Fairchild

What is your optimistic outlook for passenger rail in America?

Tobias Bauer

People want to travel, and they appreciate the comfort and safety of rail—whether they travel in cities or between cities. High-speed rail is a complete upgrade of how people will experience travel.

Published: February 25, 2026