About 160 years ago, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the US made travel between the East and West Coasts a lot easier -and changed the country forever.
Today, Americans still rely on trains to help them to go great distances, or just across the city.
And just around the time when America was building its first cross-country railroad, Siemens started building passenger trains, all over the world.
Today, Siemens and a private company in Florida have joined together to start another
New Florida trains are connecting cities
All Aboard Florida, whose parent company dates back to the days when Florida was barely settled, is embarking on an all-new passenger rail system (America's only private passenger system) that experts say will transform the state and take countless cars off the highway.
These trains will be capable of travel at 125 mph. Stations will be located in the already booming downtown areas of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. Because there will also be a depot at the Orlando airport, some 50 million travelers who currently fly or drive between Orlando and South Florida will benefit from the All Aboard Florida service.
The line's diesel-electric locomotives will be 100% American-made by Siemens. The coaches, also manufactured in the US by Siemens, will feature ergonomic seating and Wi-Fi. And they'll be easy to board - you don't have to step up to enter the cars - allowing easy access for bikes, walkers, strollers, and wheelchairs.
California is getting a bullet train
California has already broken ground on high-speed rail, a bullet train that will extend from San Francisco down to Los Angeles, some 400 miles away. The train is expected to reach speeds of 220 mph and cut in half the normally more than six-hour drive commute between California's two economic clusters. Eventually, the system will extend further north to Sacramento and all the way south to San Diego - an 800-mile trip.
To help Californians visualize the possibilities of high-speed rail, Siemens recently displayed a 50-foot-long mock-up of the futuristic-looking train and invited the public to come aboard. More than 3,000 Californians, including children from nearby schools, experienced the interactive mock-up and imagined the future with high-speed rail.
Siemens is local to California, where it maintains a 430,000 square-foot facility that's 80% solar-powered. The plant is capable of designing, engineering, and manufacturing Siemens' rolling stock portfolio, which includes locomotives, light rail vehicles, streetcars, and passenger coaches. Currently, more than 800 people are employed there.
This post is sponsored by Siemens.