Siemens to Supply Multiple Units to the USA for the First Time
24 June 2004
Order for 12 Desiro Classics for the Oceanside-Escondido Project in California
Siemens Transportation Systems (TS) has received the order from the transit agency North County Transit District (NCTD) for the supply of twelve Desiro Classic two-car diesel multiple units. The order is worth over $50 million and marks the first time that TS is to supply multiple units to the USA.
“For Siemens it is the entry into the US market for trains. It‘s a big success, and indeed a milestone success,” said Dietrich G. Möller, president of the TS trains division, responding to the news of the order award. The vehicles are earmarked for NCTD’s “Sprinter“ regional transportation project that is to provide passenger rail service on an existing freight branch line connecting the Southern Californian cities of Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and Escon-dido. The line is 22 miles long, serves 15 stations and runs extensively parallel to High-way 78. Due to be inaugurated next year, it will offer bi-directional service every 30mins for a total of 64 train journeys daily. The diesel multiple unit (DMU) vehicles will be built for a top speed of 55mph and cover the distance between Oceanside and Escondido in 54mins, thus making them 21mins faster than the existing express bus connection.
The Desiro Classic multiple units ordered by NCTD largely conform to those Desiros being used in Europe, such as the VT 642 vehicles operated by German Rail (DB AG). One major difference will be the absence of a first-class section and WC modul, thus raising the total capacity to 136 seated and 90 standing passengers. Besides that, the trains will be equipped with more powerful air-conditioning systems in order to cope with the higher ambient temperatures.
The Desiros for NCTD will be manufactured in Germany at Siemens’ Krefeld-Uerdingen plant and will then be transported by truck and ship directly to the customer. Delivery of the DMU vehicles is scheduled to start in fall 2005 and end by July 2006.
The name Desiro stands for a Siemens TS multiple-unit concept uniting cost-effectiveness and comfort. Multiple units from the Desiro family of trains can be deployed both in regional rail and in mass transit service. The modular construction concept gives the operator considerable possibilities with regard to, for example, the interior design, the train control system and the propulsion system. The standardized components, which have proven reliable in daily passenger service in Germany, Denmark, Hungary and Rumania, ensure high availability of the vehicles and low lifecycle costs.
The two-car vehicles come with diesel-mechanical drives. Thanks to the large low-floor area, i.e. due to the very low difference in height between platform and doorsill, these vehicles offer passengers a high degree of comfort when boarding and exiting. The amenities of the interior design include, among other things, the on-board information system with digital and acoustic next-stop announcement and the separate spaces for parking baby carriages, wheelchairs and bicycles. Other positive features are the bright and spacious interior, the large window bands, and the air-conditioning system. Air-suspension trucks contribute to a high degree of riding comfort.
The two autonomous six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine units with five-speed automatic transmission each have an output rating of 315kW and meet the emission standards set by Euro III, underlining the importance of environmental protection and the need to keep the Californian exhaust norm EPA TIER 2.
Desiro multiple units can be found in service not only at German Rail (DB AG), which has followed up an initial order for 150 vehicles with one for another 84. Diesel-powered Desiros are also being used by a number of regional railway lines in Germany such as the Vogtlandbahn in Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria, the Kahlgrundbahn in Hesse, the Nordwestbahn in Lower Saxony, and the Lausitzbahn in Saxony and Brandenburg. Outside Germany, the biggest order placed for Desiro diesel multiple units came from the Romanian State Railway, that called for 120 vehicles and includes an option for another 104 units. Other orders have been re-ceived from Austria (20 units), from Hungary (13 units) and from the Danish State Railway (12 units).
