Hans-Jörg Grundmann, CEO of the Mobility Division, Industry Sector, sees this latest successful order as ¡°proof of the quality of our vehicles. When a customer keeps on deciding in favor of Siemens over a lengthy period of time, then it¡¯s a great compliment for us and our products.¡±
The new vehicles will be built at the Siemens facility in Sacramento, California, and are due to be delivered between 2009 and 2012. They will be used on the new light rail line for Denver¡¯s West Corridor, a transportation project involving the construction of a new 12-mile-long transit line. The population of the Denver metropolitan area is expected to increase by one million in the next 20 years. The existing transportation system will not be able to handle this population boom. The 55 additional LRVs just ordered should help to meet this rising demand.
Compared to the older vehicles, the new cars offer larger reserved spaces for bicycles, baby carriages and wheelchairs.
As the market leader for light rail vehicles in North America, high-floor vehicles made by Siemens are already providing reliable service in the U.S. cities of Denver, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, Salt Lake City and St. Louis, as well as in the Canadian cities of Calgary and Edmonton. Siemens-built low-floor light rail vehicles, on the other hand, can be seen operating in Charlotte, Houston, Norfolk, Portland and San Diego.
This new Denver order is meanwhile the second large-scale order received from North America this fiscal year. At the beginning of December, Siemens was given an order by the Canadian transit operator Go Transit, to upgrade the signaling and communications equipment for Toronto¡¯s Union Station. Worth the equivalent of EUR140 million, this is the biggest rail automation order Siemens has ever won in North America.