A Siemens-led consortium (Erlangen, Germany) announced on January 19th a $321 million contract with the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) to modernize and automate the rail system connecting New York and New Jersey by 2017.
The project can be viewed as bringing the "Internet of Things" to the New York subway systems as trains will be talking to trains by wireless data transmission to make the system smarter and more efficient. The "Internet of Things" will be a major market driver for semiconductor manufacturers as well as nanomaterial and nanofabrication equipment manufacturers.
This project will increase the passenger capacity of the 100 year old system from 240,000 passengers to 290,000 passengers per day. By implementing a new Communication-based Train Control (CBTC) to the PATH rail system the intervals between the trains will be reduced and more trains can use the same track.
The PATH rail system is over one hundred years old, running from both Newark and Hoboken in New Jersey to the World Trade Center and Herald Square in Manhattan. Upgrading the system to CBTC will shorten the distance between operating trains, enabling more trains to move into and out of New York City on the basis of the existing infrastructure. The implementation of the new CBTC will also enhance the system’s throughput to meet future peak time demands, in addition to increasing safety and reliability while reducing ongoing maintenance costs. In addition to this increase in capacity, a new Siemens-provided train supervision system will help PATH operate more efficiently and know exactly where each train is located in the rail network.
The consortium, led by the Siemens Mobility Division includes Invensys Rail Corporation (Formerly Safetran Systems) and D/A Builders, LLC, a joint venture between Daidone Electric of Newark, New Jersey and Aldridge Electric of Libertyville, Illinois.Communication-based Train Control (CBTC) is an automated train control system based on the communication of data between rail vehicles and trackside equipment by radio (WLAN - Wireless LAN).
The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the worldwide leading supplier of environmentally friendly production, transportation, building and lighting technologies. With integrated automation technologies and comprehensive industry-specific solutions, Siemens increases the productivity, efficiency and flexibility of its customers in the fields of industry and infrastructure. The Sector consists of six divisions: Building Technologies, Drive Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility und Osram. With around 207,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Industry achieved in fiscal year 2009 total sales of approximately €35 billion.http://www.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Mobility Division (Erlangen, Germany) is the internationally leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions. With “Complete mobility”, the Division is focused on networking the various modes of transportation in order to ensure the efficient and environmentally compatible transport of people and goods.
The Siemens Mobility Division (Erlangen, Germany) is the internationally leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions. With “Complete mobility”, the Division is focused on networking the various modes of transportation in order to ensure the efficient and environmentally compatible transport of people and goods.
“Complete mobility” targets the goal of sustainability and combines the company’s competence in operations control systems for railways and traffic control systems for roadways together with solutions for airport and postal logistics, railway electrification, rolling stock for mass transit, regional and mainline services, as well as turnkey systems and forward-looking service concepts. With around 25,000 employees worldwide (September 30), Siemens Mobility posted sales of €6.4 billion in fiscal year 2009. www.siemens.com/mobility
