Siemens to upgrade Santa Clara light rail

Siemens has been chosen by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), a US independent special district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options for Santa Clara County, California, to provide innovative electrification technology to power the Guadalupe Corridor light rail line. VTA’s infrastructure modernisation will replace 27-year-old systems with Siemens’ new technology that includes advanced monitoring and diagnostic features to streamline maintenance a
March 17, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
189 Siemens has been chosen by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), a US independent special district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options for Santa Clara County, California, to provide innovative electrification technology to power the Guadalupe Corridor light rail line. VTA’s infrastructure modernisation will replace 27-year-old systems with Siemens’ new technology that includes advanced monitoring and diagnostic features to streamline maintenance activities.

The new technology includes traction power substations that convert alternating current electricity provided by the local utility to direct current in order to power the light rail trains, modern protection communication devices and circuit breakers and controllers that monitor the system and report issues if they arise. These systems can detect faults sooner and minimise stress on the line, resulting in a longer vehicle lifecycle.

Siemens will be responsible for the full delivery of the project from design and production to final commissioning, including all elements of preparing the site and replacing the old existing traction power substations that converts electric power for the vehicles. Commissioning is scheduled to begin in November 2017.

Related Content

  • June 25, 2015
    Public transportation has paid off for Salt Lake City region, study shows
    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
  • April 22, 2015
    ITS America publishes connected vehicle guidance
    Guidance on the likely impact of multipath communications on connected vehicle development has been published by ITS America. ITS America’s Connected Vehicle Technical Insight looks at the challenges and opportunities wireless interoperability could provide in vehicle applications. In particular the 22-page document examines the processes by which data can be transferred from one vehicle to another (V2V), or between a vehicle and the infrastructure (V2I).
    Read More
  • July 27, 2012
    Delivering accurate bus information
    John C. Toone, King County Metro, describes the transition to an IntelliDrive-led approach to communication and information sharing in line with the introduction of a new bus rapid transit service. King County Metro (KC Metro), which serves Seattle, Bellevue and over 20 suburban towns, has been active in the development of intelligent transportation systems for many years. It has operated a signpost-based AVL system for more than a decade and has used this to provide bus location information to the public o
    Read More
  • April 29, 2014
    Growing focus on efficient traffic management driving global ITS market
    According to the latest report by Global Industry Analysts, Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Global Strategic Business Report, the global market for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) is projected to reach US$26.3 billion by 2020, driven by continued rise in vehicular traffic and the need to regulate traffic flow, rising impetus for enhancing road safety, and escalating socio-environmental implications of traffic congestion.
    Read More

Highlighted Content