ASHBY DE LA ZOUCH, England, February 28 /PRNewswire/ --

Siemens today underlined its commitment to creating greener railways, with the launch of a major initiative at today's RAIL 2008 conference.

Launching Green Mobility, managing director of Siemens Transportation Systems, Christian Roth said, "Siemens is taking a balanced holistic approach to rail-based mobility - from mass transit to regional to main-line services for people and goods. We have positioned our product portfolio to meet the needs of transportation and logistics operators. They are the ones who make sure people and goods are transported safely and swiftly - be it across cities, within regions or over long distances. Reliability, safety, attractiveness and efficiency are our top priorities and benefit the operators and the environment."

Green Mobility is part of a global approach under the banner of Complete Mobility. Siemens is a leading international supplier to the railways industry and as a single source supplier and system integrator combines all the expertise necessary to cover all areas of rail transportation.

"Environmental considerations such as reducing CO2 emissions and improving sustainability play an important role when it comes to making the railways attractive and ensuring that even more people will be carried by rail in the future," said Christian Roth.

In the UK, the Siemens electric Desiro fleet incorporates energy efficient regenerative braking. A further 37 Desiro Class 350s will shortly be delivered to train operators London Midland to replace the Class 321s - which do not have regenerative capability.

An environmental improvement initiative developed by Siemens has slashed the fuel consumption of the Desiro Class 185 diesel train by 7%. Working in partnership with First TransPennine Express engine, running time has been reduced by 80 minutes per vehicle per day, saving over 1.8m litres of fuel per year.

Christian Roth, will present Green Mobility: the future needs the railways for a cleaner environment at 12 noon today (Thursday 28 February) at the RAIL 2008 conference, the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London.

http://www.siemens.com/mobility

As part of Siemens in the UK, Siemens Transportation Systems provides expertise in rail systems and technology to the UK rail industry.

Siemens is part of the Express Rail Alliance consortium which is bidding for the Intercity Express Programme to design, build & maintain the UK's next generation of high speed trains.

Visit: http://www.siemenstransportation.co.uk

Further information: Alison Emery, Siemens Transportation Systems, Tel: +44-1530-258204, Email: alison.emery@siemens.com