Twin Cities’ Metropolitan Council chooses Siemens to provide new light rail vehicles for Southwest expansion

Siemens has been chosen by the US Twin Cities of Minnesota and St Paul Metropolitan Council to manufacture 27 new light rail vehicles that will operate on the Metro Transit Southwest line expansion. Siemens will begin engineering the new vehicles, which will feature improvements including a redesigned middle section to improve passenger flow including wheelchairs and bicycles, ice cutters to remove sleet from the overhead wires that provide the electrical current to power the vehicles, and preferred seat
October 28, 2016 Read time: 1 min
189 Siemens has been chosen by the US Twin Cities of Minnesota and St Paul Metropolitan Council to manufacture 27 new light rail vehicles that will operate on the Metro Transit Southwest line expansion.

Siemens will begin engineering the new vehicles, which will feature improvements including a redesigned middle section to improve passenger flow including wheelchairs and bicycles, ice cutters to remove sleet from the overhead wires that provide the electrical current to power the vehicles, and preferred seating to meet Americans with Disabilities guidelines, among many others.

The contract expands Siemens relationship with the Twin Cities, adding to the existing fleet of 59 Siemens S70 light rail vehicles successfully operating on Metro Transit’s Green and Blue lines.  Five additional S70s are currently in production in Sacramento and will add capacity to the existing system.

The first light rail vehicle is expected to arrive in Minnesota in 2019.

Related Content

  • Metro-North seat tracker links to Google Maps 
    December 27, 2021
    Real-time data shows estimated customers in each car on New York MTA rail route
    Read More
  • LA Metro takes delivery of first zero emission buses
    May 1, 2015
    Hot on the heels of the announcement of California Governor Jerry Brown’s Executive Order to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the state to 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 comes the news that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has taken delivery of its first five battery electric transit buses. These 40-foot buses are built by local Southern California Electric Vehicle manufacturer BYD Motors and will be integrated into their daily operations, as the buses are
    Read More
  • Missouri’s Road to Tomorrow provides ITS answers
    December 22, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at Missouri’s plans to become America’s ITS testbed The state of Missouri launched its Road to Tomorrow initiative earlier this summer at the ITS America Annual Meeting and Expo in Pittsburgh, rolling out the welcome mat for transportation officials to try out new, innovative ITS technologies in the field.
    Read More
  • Consortium awarded LRT project in Canada
    February 12, 2016
    TransEd Partners, a consortium including global engineering and construction company Bechtel, has been selected by the City of Edmonton to finance, design, supply vehicles, build, operate, and maintain the first phase of the Edmonton Valley Line Light Rail Transit project. The Valley Line is central to the City of Edmonton's transportation plan, designed to meet the demands of Canada's second fastest-growing city that is expected to increase in size by 50 per cent by 2040.
    Read More

Highlighted Content