SIEMENS RAIL AUTOMATION SA

Their core work

Siemens Rail Automation SA is the Spanish rail signalling and train-control arm of Siemens Mobility, operating from Madrid under the historic Dimetronic brand. They design and deploy the systems that let trains run safely and densely on European networks — ERTMS/ETCS signalling, interlockings, and satellite-based train positioning using GNSS receivers. More recently they have extended beyond mainline rail into multimodal urban mobility, contributing automation and safety know-how to connected-urban-pole initiatives. Their value to a consortium is field-tested signalling engineering at industrial scale rather than early-stage academic research.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015-2018 the organisation concentrated strictly on mainline rail: intelligent infrastructure in IN2RAIL and GNSS-based ETCS signalling in STARS, reflecting their core Dimetronic/Siemens Mobility signalling business. From 2021 onwards, through SCALE-UP, their vocabulary broadened to multimodal hubs, clean mobility, vulnerable users and data-driven governance. The trend is a deliberate move from pure train-control engineering toward the wider urban-mobility ecosystem where rail, road and micromobility converge.

They are repositioning from a specialist rail-signalling supplier toward a partner for integrated urban and multimodal transport systems, making them relevant well beyond pure rail consortia.

How they like to work

They have never coordinated or formally participated in the H2020 projects in this dataset — in all three they appear as a third party, meaning they contribute engineering expertise through a linked Siemens entity rather than leading the work. Yet they sit inside very large consortia, touching 104 distinct partners across 16 countries, so they are well connected through the Shift2Rail and urban-mobility ecosystems. Expect them to act as a trusted technical contributor inside industry-led consortia rather than as a coordinator.

They have collaborated with 104 partners across 16 countries, centred on the European rail research community (Shift2Rail, ERTMS users and suppliers) with Spain as their operational base.

What sets them apart

Unlike universities or small rail R&D SMEs, they bring the weight of a major industrial signalling vendor — meaning ideas tested in their projects can actually be engineered into deployable ERTMS/ETCS products. They are one of the few Spanish-based players at the intersection of mainline rail signalling and satellite-based train positioning. For a consortium, partnering with them gives credibility with infrastructure managers and a realistic path from research prototype to installed system.

Highlights from their portfolio

• STARS
  Flagship European effort to qualify GNSS satellite positioning for ETCS signalling — a technically defining project for their expertise.
• IN2RAIL
  Large Shift2Rail lighthouse project on intelligent rail infrastructure, positioning them inside the core European rail innovation programme.
• SCALE-UP
  Marks their move beyond mainline rail into multimodal urban mobility, connected urban poles and vulnerable-user safety.