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Siemens S700 and S70
The Siemens S70 and its successor, the Siemens S700, are a series of articulated low-floor light-rail vehicles (LRV) and modern streetcars manufactured for the United States market by Siemens Mobility, a division of German conglomerate Siemens. The series also includes a European tram-train variant, the Siemens Avanto.
The S70 was manufactured from 2002 to 2017 and the improved S700 from 2014 to present, but the latter model designation was only introduced in 2019 and then retroactively applied to certain versions of the S70 built in earlier years. In this market, it competes mainly with Alstom and Kinki Sharyo low-floor LRVs and streetcars manufactured by Brookville and Inekon.
The Avanto was built for the European market starting in 2006 and was principally sold to tram-train systems which, in whole or part, share their tracks with heavy rail trains. In Europe, the Siemens Combino and Avenio models are the preferred offerings for purely light rail or tramway systems. In the tram-train market, its principal competitors are Alstom's Flexity and Citadis, as well as CAF's Urbos series.
The first order for S70 vehicles in the U.S. – where the three-section model was originally known as S70 Avanto but soon became known simply as the S70 – was placed in 2001 for the METRORail system in Houston, Texas, and the first car was received by Houston in April 2003. This first series of S70 cars entered service on January 1, 2004, the opening day of Houston's light rail system. At Siemens's U.S. manufacturing facilities (in Sacramento, California), only the model S700 remains in production, the last S70s having been built in 2017, for Minneapolis–Saint Paul's Metro Transit light rail system.
The first purchase of the European version, a five-section tram-train design sold under the Avanto brand name, was a 15-car order placed in July 2002 by SNCF, for its line between Aulnay-sous-Bois and Bondy, which is now known as Île-de-France tramway Line 4.
The model number S700 was adopted by Siemens Mobility in 2019 as a rebranding of a version of the S70 that had been in production since 2014. Versions later branded as the S700 used an adapted form of Siemens' model SF 40 center truck, first used in its SD660 model (first built in 1996 for Portland, Oregon's MAX Light Rail system) to the S70. This truck allowed longitudinal (sideways-facing) seating to be used in the center section, in place of the transverse seating used in the S70. The design change provided better passenger comfort and movement. The first LRVs built to the newer design were the "Type 5" cars for the MAX Light Rail system, in 2014. Initially Siemens continued to sell LRVs with either center-section configuration and used the designation S70 for both. In 2019, the company began using the designation S700 for new orders, and in 2020 it retroactively applied the S700 designation to all LRVs and streetcars that had been built to the newer design since its creation in 2013 or 2014.
The S70, S700, and Avanto have a modular design and can be built in a number of different sizes and configurations, including both light-rail vehicle (LRV) and streetcar versions.
The standard version of the S70 and S700 LRV is 95.4 feet (29.1 m) long, although the earliest S70 units delivered had a different, longer cab design that extended the length to 96 feet (29.3 m). The streetcar version of the S700 is 85.25 feet (25.98 m) long, about 10 feet (3.0 m) shorter than the standard LRV. Siemens also offers a US ("Ultra Short") variant of the LRV at 81.4 feet (24.8 m), about 14 feet (4.3 m) shorter than the standard version. The San Diego Trolley and the Salt Lake City TRAX systems have purchased the US variants. The Avantos built for France have a length of 36.68 m (120 ft 4 in). All versions of the S70 and S700 have the suspended articulation construction.
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Siemens S700 and S70
The Siemens S70 and its successor, the Siemens S700, are a series of articulated low-floor light-rail vehicles (LRV) and modern streetcars manufactured for the United States market by Siemens Mobility, a division of German conglomerate Siemens. The series also includes a European tram-train variant, the Siemens Avanto.
The S70 was manufactured from 2002 to 2017 and the improved S700 from 2014 to present, but the latter model designation was only introduced in 2019 and then retroactively applied to certain versions of the S70 built in earlier years. In this market, it competes mainly with Alstom and Kinki Sharyo low-floor LRVs and streetcars manufactured by Brookville and Inekon.
The Avanto was built for the European market starting in 2006 and was principally sold to tram-train systems which, in whole or part, share their tracks with heavy rail trains. In Europe, the Siemens Combino and Avenio models are the preferred offerings for purely light rail or tramway systems. In the tram-train market, its principal competitors are Alstom's Flexity and Citadis, as well as CAF's Urbos series.
The first order for S70 vehicles in the U.S. – where the three-section model was originally known as S70 Avanto but soon became known simply as the S70 – was placed in 2001 for the METRORail system in Houston, Texas, and the first car was received by Houston in April 2003. This first series of S70 cars entered service on January 1, 2004, the opening day of Houston's light rail system. At Siemens's U.S. manufacturing facilities (in Sacramento, California), only the model S700 remains in production, the last S70s having been built in 2017, for Minneapolis–Saint Paul's Metro Transit light rail system.
The first purchase of the European version, a five-section tram-train design sold under the Avanto brand name, was a 15-car order placed in July 2002 by SNCF, for its line between Aulnay-sous-Bois and Bondy, which is now known as Île-de-France tramway Line 4.
The model number S700 was adopted by Siemens Mobility in 2019 as a rebranding of a version of the S70 that had been in production since 2014. Versions later branded as the S700 used an adapted form of Siemens' model SF 40 center truck, first used in its SD660 model (first built in 1996 for Portland, Oregon's MAX Light Rail system) to the S70. This truck allowed longitudinal (sideways-facing) seating to be used in the center section, in place of the transverse seating used in the S70. The design change provided better passenger comfort and movement. The first LRVs built to the newer design were the "Type 5" cars for the MAX Light Rail system, in 2014. Initially Siemens continued to sell LRVs with either center-section configuration and used the designation S70 for both. In 2019, the company began using the designation S700 for new orders, and in 2020 it retroactively applied the S700 designation to all LRVs and streetcars that had been built to the newer design since its creation in 2013 or 2014.
The S70, S700, and Avanto have a modular design and can be built in a number of different sizes and configurations, including both light-rail vehicle (LRV) and streetcar versions.
The standard version of the S70 and S700 LRV is 95.4 feet (29.1 m) long, although the earliest S70 units delivered had a different, longer cab design that extended the length to 96 feet (29.3 m). The streetcar version of the S700 is 85.25 feet (25.98 m) long, about 10 feet (3.0 m) shorter than the standard LRV. Siemens also offers a US ("Ultra Short") variant of the LRV at 81.4 feet (24.8 m), about 14 feet (4.3 m) shorter than the standard version. The San Diego Trolley and the Salt Lake City TRAX systems have purchased the US variants. The Avantos built for France have a length of 36.68 m (120 ft 4 in). All versions of the S70 and S700 have the suspended articulation construction.