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BMW Group subsidiary DesignworksUSA develops design of the Metro Inspiro, the latest underground passenger train from Siemens/ Warsaw places order for 35 trains amounting to a total value of 270 million Euros.
Los Angeles/Munich/Singapore.
Design is becoming increasingly important within the urban environment. A metropolis’ identity is notably determined by the quality and visual impression of its local public transport system. In the summer of 2010, the Siemens company commissioned BMW Group subsidiary DesignworksUSA, to develop the design of the new Metro Inspiro - a further chapter in the long-standing cooperation of the two partners. With the Metro Inspiro, Siemens is aiming to set new benchmarks. The design team focused on combining the demands of the Siemens company, potential operators, passengers and the environment alike. An intelligent interplay between state-of-the-art technology and emotional design is focused on defining a new and sustainable quality of experiencing urban mobility. With the new design, Siemens will be participating internationally in open competitive bidding for inner-city passenger train fleets. The global growth potential for this mobility sector is estimated to be around four percent.
Designing urban competitiveness.
Siemens is convinced that sustainable, networked and well channelled mobility is a key issue of the 21st century and that safe and fast public transport decides over the quality of life and competitiveness of towns, cities and regions all over the world. As a globally operating design studio with a large number of clients from the automobile, yacht and aircraft industries, DesignworksUSA has a deep understanding of sustainable mobility design spanning a great variety of business sectors. The Metro Inspiro assignment tasked the design team to live up to the increased demands on travel comfort and spatial perception, optimise transport capacities and provide regional public transportation services with additional possibilities for individualisation. Striking design features were conceived in order to give Siemens an unmistakable presence on the rails. Laurenz Schaffer, President of DesignworksUSA summarises: “When competing with each other, towns and cities will secure advantages through the quality of their transportation systems. The possibilities for megacities to combine mobility with the interests of the public is the most crucial task when designing mobility.”
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