Siemens showcased its ‘complete mobility’ portfolio which includes high speed trains and mass transit turnkey solutions, at the 'Urban Transport 2010 Conference and Exhibition' held in Riyadh recently.

A global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors, Siemen was a major sponsor of the conference which ran from January 25 to 27.

The conference discussed several key projects including the Haramain High-speed Railway Project, a 500-km high-speed link between the cities of Makkah and Madinah.

It will enable many of the 20 million pilgrims who visit these cities each year to travel quickly and comfortably. The suburban line between Mina and Arafat is also being expanded as quickly as possible, said Siemens in a statement.

The Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah line will connect them with traveling speeds up to 100 km per hour. The electricity will be provided by a Siemens traction power supply, it added.

Siemens said its activities in Saudi Arabia date back to the early 1930s when the country imported its first power plant equipment.

From the very beginning Siemens has made a significant contribution to the development of the country’s infrastructure. One third of the power used in the Kingdom is generated and distributed by Siemens, it stated.

Siemens said its mobility solutions were contributing to the development of transportation facilities for pilgrims coming to Makkah and Madinah by using advanced technologies for high speed and metro trains and airport baggage handling systems.

Complete Mobility combines the competencies in operating systems for rail and road traffic with solutions for airport logistics, postal automation and rail electrification, as well as rail vehicles for mass transit, regional and long-distance transportation, said the company in a statement.

Siemens pointed out that the state-of-the-art mass transit solutions were in big demand in growing cities and rail was proving to be the fastest, safest, most environmentally friendly and most cost-effective approach to this objective.TradeArabia News Service