Siemens Factory and Test Track, Germany
7th to 9th June 2007
On Thursday 7 th June fifteen budding IRO Young Professionals (IRO YP's) departed the UK and set off on what promised to be an exciting and enjoyable two night trip to Germany to visit the Siemens train building factory and train test centre. It was the YP's first expedition into Europe , which was a major achievement considering the forum was founded little over a year ago. The places on the trip were quickly snapped-up, with the lure of a visit to Siemens, one of the leading global suppliers of rail vehicles and
The trip got-underway in earnest with everyone meeting at London Waterloo International Station at 1130hrs, which was in good time to board the 1240 hrs Eurostar train to Brussels-Midi. After a seamless journey through the tunnel, the train arrived into Brussels - on time - at 1607 hrs. We then caught an Intercity train to Liege before changing onto a Regionalzug to Aachen arriving at 1830hrs. Following a 2 hour stop over at Aachen we then caught a RegionalBahn train for the final leg of the journey to Krefeld arriving at 2200hrs.
On Friday 8 th June, we were collected from our hotel and whisked to the train building factory in Uerdingen, near Krefeld . On arrival at the factory, Mark Sedman (Sales & Marketing Manager UK and Ireland , Siemens) and Laurenz Niemeyer (Uerdingen Plant Manager, Siemens) were waiting to meet and greet us all. The red carpet had certainly been rolled out for us – the British flag was at full mast and had clearly been especially arranged for our visit!
Members of IRO Young Professionals stand outside the Ûerdingen factory in Germany where Siemens manufacturers its trains. Mark Sedman, Sales & Marketing Manager for the UK and Ireland, stands at the far right, while factory manager Laurenz Niemeyer is pictured second from left
The factory, which is 178,000m² in area, has been building trains for some 125 years and employs 2,200 people producing approximately 450 coaches each year. The plant has international recognition and is responsible for building trains that can be seen in passenger service all over the world – from supplying its own domestic market with its famous “ICE” fleet, to supplying countries such as The Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Denmark, Japan, Thailand, Switzerland and Italy to name but a few. In the UK alone the plant has built the now famous “Desiro” designed train - from Class 450's & 444's on South West Trains to Class 360's on ‘One' Railway and Class 185's on TPE.
We were given a full tour of the factory and it was fascinating to see the whole process take shape before our own eyes; separate modular aluminium sheets arrive at the factory where they are welded together to form the shell of a car. Pre-assembled components are then added to the body shell using automated jigs and laser measurement equipment before they are all assembled in-line. Using a highly skilled workforce everything is then built “just in time” to ensure an optimum output from the factory.
The train being built in the plant was the “Velaro E” which is destined for Spain to run on the new high speed line between Madrid and Barcelona . It was interesting to note that in order to compete directly with airlines the seats are rotated by 180° before departure to ensure they always face the direction of travel.
One of the ICE trains at the test centre
In the afternoon we visited Siemens test track facility at Wildenrath; an old airfield, it has been open since 1997 and recently marked its 10 th anniversary by holding an open day to the general public. The centre has 28km of tracks in total, comprising of 5 different test tracks which each have different curvatures and gradients to ensure that “real life” conditions are replicated as near as possible. It employs some 400 staff in total and it
cost Siemens 105 million EUR to build. We were met by Steffan Schimmel, Siemens Wildenrath Manager, who gave us a presentation on the centre before showing us around the complex. The test centre is a unique state-of-the-art test centre that is able to provide power supply for all standard rail systems worldwide. Furthermore, it has brought major benefits in that the commissioning time required before each new train enters passenger service has been greatly reduced, meaning that warranty claims and faults have also drastically fallen.
Siemens gave a warm welcome to the IRO group and displayed British flags at the factory and test centre
We didn't leave the centre before every member of the group had a drive on the Desiro Multiple Unit destined for Thai State Railways to work on the Bangkok airport link. Under supervision, we took it in turns to drive the train – which was restricted to a top speed of 130kph - around the test track which was an amazing experience; certificates were then handed out to recognise the successful driving experience.
The group stands in front of the Desiro train they had just had a chance to drive
On our return journey to the UK we travelled via Cologne back to Brussels . At Cologne Station the Left Luggage system was one that the UK must surely envy – an automated system (costing just 4 EUR) would ensure that your luggage would be safely stored and when you wanted to retrieve it, you simply inserted your receipt which then found your bag in minutes. Making full use of these facilities the group had a well earned beer at one of the continental terraces next to the beautiful surroundings of Cologne cathedral.
The train from Cologne to Brussels was an ICE 3 train which was noteworthy in that passengers are able to see a “driver's eye” cab view since the cab door is transparent (although a blind exists should the driver want some privacy!). We then connected into the 1759 hrs Eurostar train, arriving 10minutes ahead of schedule into London Waterloo!
Overall, the trip was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening experience. Rob Mullen, a consultant for DeltaRail said “the trip to Krefeld provided a great insight into the technology and operation of modern trains. Siemens were excellent hosts, open and informative. I look forward to a similar trip next year”. Charles Isitt, a Civil Engineer for Network Rail, said “The visit was an excellent opportunity to see Siemens train manufacturing and testing facilities. The trip highlighted the increasingly global nature of the Rail industry, with Siemens standard vehicle designs now operating in a number of countries.”
Rowland Stepney, Head of SE Area, IRO YP.
Photos courtesy Michael Pead (© 2007). - see a gallery of other photos.
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