Siemens Mobility
Siemens AG’s mobility business, supplying rail vehicles, electrification, signaling, automation, traffic management, and transport software.
Last updated August 27, 2026
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Overview
Siemens Mobility is the rail and transport technology business of Siemens AG, headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its activities span the design, manufacture, integration, operation, maintenance, and digital management of transportation systems. The business is best known for passenger rail vehicles, high-speed trains, locomotives, commuter and regional trains, metros, trams, and automated people movers, but its scope also includes railway electrification, signaling, train control, traffic management, fare and passenger-information systems, and lifecycle services. The business traces its technological heritage to Siemens’s nineteenth-century work in electric transportation. Siemens & Halske developed early electric railway and tramway systems, including an electric train demonstrated in the 1870s and an electric tramway built in Berlin. Subsequent work in trolleybuses, mine locomotives, urban railways, and electric traction helped establish a foundation for the modern mobility portfolio. The company later participated in major international rail projects, including the Shanghai Maglev system, which entered commercial service in 2002. Siemens Mobility’s modern organization is commonly described around four principal areas: Mobility Management, Railway Electrification, Rolling Stock, and Customer Services. Mobility Management covers signaling, automatic train operation, rail traffic management, intelligent road-traffic systems, and related digital platforms. Railway Electrification supplies traction power, substations, overhead contact systems, and associated infrastructure. Rolling Stock includes product families such as Velaro high-speed trains, Desiro regional and commuter trains, Mireo trains, Vectron locomotives, Avenio trams, and metro platforms. Customer Services supports fleets and infrastructure through maintenance, spare parts, modernization, diagnostics, and data-enabled services. The company expanded its signaling and digital capabilities through acquisitions, including Invensys Rail in 2012 and the software company HaCon in 2017. It also sought to combine its rail activities with Alstom in a proposed transaction announced in 2017. The European Commission prohibited the merger in 2019, after concluding that the transaction would harm competition in several rail markets. Siemens Mobility subsequently continued as a Siemens business rather than becoming part of a Siemens-Alstom group. Siemens Mobility serves public transport authorities, railway operators, infrastructure managers, airports, and government customers. Its competitive field includes Alstom, CRRC, Hitachi Rail, Stadler, CAF, Hyundai Rotem, Talgo, and other specialized rail and signaling suppliers. The brand’s positioning combines large-scale engineering, systems integration, electrification, automation, and digital lifecycle services rather than focusing only on vehicle sales.
History
Siemens Mobility’s history is rooted in Siemens & Halske’s early experiments with electric transportation. In the late nineteenth century, Siemens demonstrated an electric railway in which power was supplied through the rails and built an electric tramway in Berlin. These projects helped establish electric traction as a practical technology for urban and railway transport. Further developments included electric trolleybuses, mine locomotives, and contributions to early underground rail systems, including the first continental European underground railway in Budapest. Over the following decades, Siemens developed equipment and systems for electric traction, signaling, railway control, and urban transportation. The company’s activities expanded from individual electrical components toward integrated rail systems and complete rolling-stock platforms. Its later portfolio included locomotives, electric multiple units, metro trains, trams, high-speed trains, railway electrification, and signaling technologies. A prominent international project was the Shanghai Maglev. Siemens participated in the German consortium, alongside ThyssenKrupp and Transrapid International, that supplied the system. The line opened in 2002 and became the first commercial high-speed magnetic-levitation service. It connected Shanghai with Pudong International Airport and demonstrated Siemens’s role in advanced transport systems beyond conventional steel-wheel railways. Siemens strengthened its rail signaling and automation activities through the acquisition of Invensys Rail in November 2012. The transaction added technology, projects, and customer relationships in railway control and signaling. In 2017, Siemens also acquired HaCon, a Hanover-based software company specializing in transport information and planning applications. HaCon was retained as a separately managed legal entity, supporting the wider shift toward digital passenger services and data-driven mobility operations. In September 2017, Siemens and Alstom announced plans to combine their rail businesses. The proposed company, commonly referred to as Siemens Alstom, was presented as a European response to the growth of China’s CRRC and would have combined substantial rolling-stock, signaling, and service activities. In February 2019, the European Commission prohibited the transaction, citing competition concerns in markets including high-speed and signaling equipment. The deal therefore did not proceed, and Siemens Mobility remained within Siemens AG. The business has continued to develop vehicle platforms and digital systems. Its rolling-stock families include Velaro high-speed trains, Desiro regional and commuter trains, Mireo trains, Vectron locomotives, metro vehicles, and Avenio trams. Its infrastructure and software portfolio includes electrification, Trainguard train-control systems, traffic management, passenger-information tools, asset monitoring, and Railigent data services. In 2018, Siemens Mobility demonstrated an autonomous tram in Berlin during InnoTrans. The demonstration, developed with Verkehrsbetriebe Potsdam, used a section of the Potsdam tram network to show automated operation in a real urban environment. Today Siemens Mobility operates as a global Siemens business serving rail operators, infrastructure managers, transport authorities, airports, and public-sector customers. Its role extends across the transport lifecycle, from planning and engineering to manufacturing, commissioning, maintenance, modernization, and digital optimization.
- 2019
Siemens–Alstom merger prohibited
[1]The European Commission rejected the proposed merger on competition grounds, ending the planned transaction.
- 2018
Autonomous tram demonstration
[1]Siemens Mobility presented an autonomous tram demonstration in Potsdam, Germany, during InnoTrans.
- 2017
HaCon acquisition
[1]Siemens took over HaCon, a Hanover-based transport software company, while maintaining it as a separately managed legal entity.
- 2017
Proposed Siemens–Alstom combination
[1]Siemens and Alstom announced a plan to combine their rail businesses into a proposed European rail group.
- 2012
Invensys Rail acquisition
[1]Siemens acquired Invensys Rail, strengthening its global signaling and rail automation business.
- 2002
Shanghai Maglev enters service
[1]The Shanghai Maglev, built by a German consortium including Siemens, began commercial operation as the first commercial high-speed magnetic-levitation railway.
- 1881
Berlin electric tramway
[1]Siemens built a 2.5-kilometre electric tramway in Berlin, contributing to the practical development of electric urban transit.
- 1879
Early Siemens electric railway demonstration
[1]Siemens & Halske demonstrated an electric train supplied through the rails, an early milestone in the company’s electric-transportation heritage.
Products and positioning
A global rail and intelligent-transportation technology provider combining rolling stock, electrification, signaling, automation, traffic management, and digital lifecycle services.
High-speed trains
Velaro
Velaro is Siemens Mobility’s high-speed electric multiple-unit family. It has been adapted for different national rail networks and operating requirements, with variants used or developed for intercity and high-speed services in Europe and Asia. The family emphasizes high-speed performance, passenger capacity, modular configuration, and compatibility with modern signaling and electrification systems.
Regional and commuter trains
Desiro
Desiro is a broad family of electric and diesel multiple-unit trains for commuter, suburban, and regional services. Variants include single- and double-deck configurations and adaptations for different loading gauges, power systems, and passenger-service patterns. The platform has been supplied to operators in several European and international markets.
Regional and suburban trains
Mireo
Mireo is a modular regional and suburban train platform designed for efficient operation on electrified networks. Its configurations can be adapted for different route lengths, passenger capacities, and accessibility requirements. The platform is part of Siemens Mobility’s newer generation of regional rolling stock.
Locomotives
Vectron
Vectron is a modular electric locomotive family intended for passenger and freight operations. Its configurations support multiple voltage systems and national railway requirements, allowing operators to use locomotives across borders where approved. The platform is associated with Siemens Mobility’s European locomotive business.
Trams
Avenio
Avenio is a low-floor tram platform for urban and metropolitan light-rail services. It is designed for accessible boarding, flexible vehicle length, and adaptation to local infrastructure and passenger demands. The platform forms part of Siemens Mobility’s modern tram portfolio.
Metro trains
Inspiro
Inspiro is a metro rolling-stock platform for automated and conventional urban rapid-transit systems. Siemens Mobility has developed configurations for different network gauges, power supplies, passenger capacities, and automation levels.
Railway signaling and train control
Trainguard
Trainguard is a Siemens Mobility signaling and train-control portfolio. It includes technologies for automatic train protection, communications-based train control, and automated operation. Applications are intended to improve railway capacity, safety, regularity, and operational control.
Digital rail services
Railigent
Railigent is a digital rail-services platform associated with Siemens Mobility’s use of operational data and analytics. It supports condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, fleet insight, and other applications intended to improve asset availability and lifecycle management.
Marketing campaigns
- 2018Autonomous tram demonstration at InnoTrans
Germany
Siemens Mobility demonstrated an autonomous tram on a six-kilometre section of the Potsdam tram network in cooperation with Verkehrsbetriebe Potsdam. The project illustrated how sensors, software, and automated control could be applied to an operating urban tram environment.
Outcome. Public technology demonstration of automated tram operation.
Brand decisions
2017
Propose Siemens–Alstom rail mergerM&ABackground
Siemens and Alstom presented the proposed combination as a way to create a stronger European rail supplier amid increasing competition from CRRC.
Action taken
Siemens proposed merging its transportation division with Alstom into a company commonly called Siemens Alstom.
Aftermath
The European Commission prohibited the transaction in February 2019, so the proposed combination was not completed.
2012
Acquire Invensys RailM&ABackground
Siemens sought to expand its railway signaling and automation capabilities through the purchase of Invensys Rail.
Action taken
Siemens acquired Invensys Rail for £1.7 billion.
Aftermath
The acquisition strengthened Siemens’s rail infrastructure and signaling portfolio.
Acquisition price. £1.7 billion (2012)
Recent events
- 2019
European Commission blocks Siemens–Alstom rail merger[1]
M&A · Regulation
The European Commission prohibited the proposed Siemens-Alstom merger after finding that remedies offered by the companies did not sufficiently address competition concerns.
- 2017
Siemens acquires software company HaCon[1]
M&A
Siemens announced that it had taken over Hannover-based transport software company HaCon, which was to remain a separately managed legal entity.
- 2017
Siemens proposes rail combination with Alstom[1]
M&A
Siemens proposed combining its mobility activities with Alstom to create a larger European rail group intended to compete with major international suppliers.
- 2012
Siemens acquires Invensys Rail[1]
M&A
Siemens completed the acquisition of Invensys Rail, expanding its railway signaling, automation, and rail infrastructure portfolio.
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