Rail operator deploys Siemens technology for newly opened light rail line

TriMet's new MAX Orange Line, a light rail project between Portland and Milwaukie in the US incorporates Siemens’ advanced rail technologies, including its S70 light rail vehicles, rail signalling and communication systems and the company's first Sitras SES energy storage unit in the US that uses regenerative braking to sustainably power the line. The 12 kilometre line is the region's sixth construction project of the development project Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) to expand the city's transport net
September 22, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
1272 TriMet's new MAX Orange Line, a light rail project between Portland and Milwaukie in the US incorporates 189 Siemens’ advanced rail technologies, including its S70 light rail vehicles, rail signalling and communication systems and the company's first Sitras SES energy storage unit in the US that uses regenerative braking to sustainably power the line.

The 12 kilometre line is the region's sixth construction project of the development project Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) to expand the city's transport network to cope with expected population growth in the Portland area. The line will improve transit in the corridor that extends from the terminus of the MAX Green and Yellow lines at Portland State University in Downtown Portland to Milwaukie and North Clackamas County.

The newly redesigned light rail vehicles were built based on input from TriMet and passengers and include better sight lines for the driver, more ergonomically designed main cabins and larger displays for train operators so they are better able to monitor the vehicle's status to improve safety and efficiency. Maintenance enhancements were made based on TriMet's feedback including rearrangement of systems to increase accessibility to key components on the vehicles and improved diagnostic systems.

The innovative regenerative rail energy storage technology allows for energy created during braking to be stored and then re-used in one of two forms, energy savings or voltage stabilisation during peak demand times. TriMet will utilise the system in voltage stabilisation mode, which enables the system to avoid disruptions that can occur in mass transit operations if power drops below a certain level. The Sitras SES ensures the system voltage always remains within the required range and voltage-related disruptions no longer occur.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Siemens launches Mobility IDEA contest
    September 4, 2014
    Siemens Road and City Mobility announced the launch of its Mobility IDEA (Improving Design and Engineering for All) contest, an initiative to find innovative ideas to help solve five of the toughest challenges facing the traffic industry. Contest winners will be invited to participate in a product prototyping workshop with Siemens technology experts. Siemens will also reward the top three universities by number of submissions with a traffic control software grant worth US$150,000 to help train future traffi
    Read More
  • A streetcar named...reliable
    June 27, 2018
    When Atlanta’s streetcar project had some issues, Siemens helped to solve them – but started out by just listening, says Chris Maynard, the company’s head of rail services. It’s funny how often niggling problems can be a warning sign that there are bigger issues requiring attention – and not so funny how things can escalate if you don’t pay attention to them. With that in mind, Siemens was hired as service provider for the Atlanta Streetcar system - four vehicles operating on a two-mile loop in downtown
    Read More
  • Public transportation has paid off for Salt Lake City region, study shows
    June 25, 2015
    A public transportation technology partnership between Salt Lake City and Siemens in the US has resulted in 1,300 new jobs that have spurred an estimated $225 million in value to the local economy, according to a study conducted by the Economic Development Research Group, a Boston-based research company Siemens hired to assess the economic impact of the project. Since 1996, Siemens has manufactured and delivered 117 light rail vehicles for UTA’s TRAX light rail streetcar lines. The company is building t
    Read More
  • Motown morphs into Mobility City
    August 7, 2018
    Detroit was once a byword for urban decay – but ITS America recently held its annual meeting there. This gave David Arminas a chance to assess how fast Motor City is moving down the road to recovery. Motor City, as Detroit is still called, was on its financial knees only five short years ago. The future looked bleak as the city and greater urban area bled jobs and population. It was on 18 July 2013 that Motown, as Detroit is also known, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, the
    Read More

Highlighted Content