How will the departure of Siemens affect the spread of Russia and what will happen to the Sapsan?
- Maria Kiseleva
- BBC
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Siemens has announced that it is disappearing from the Russian market and servicing its Russian projects. Among them are the iconic Sapsan trains that run between Moscow and St. Petersburg, but not only.
“This has been a challenging consequence given our duty to care for our employees and the long-standing relationship with customers in the market for which we have been working for nearly 170 years,” the German company, which said goodbye to the market sector, strictly adhered to.
On May 12, Siemens announced its withdrawal from the Russian market “as a result of the war with Ukraine.” As early as March 2, the company was talking about suspending offers and working on new projects in Russia. However, on May 12, the company announcedthat “began to cover the curtailment of its production activities.”
Siemens first appeared in Russia in 1851, it supplied equipment for the telegraph line between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Moreover, the company also supplied equipment to the Soviet Union – before and after the Second World War.
In the new Russia, another project that connected Moscow and St. Petersburg, the Sapsan high-speed trains, became a milestone for Siemens.
Trains, commercial name – Velaro Rus – Siemens manufactures for many countries. This family’s rides run on rails in Turkey, Spain and Germany. “Velaro Rus” was modified to suit Russian conditions – primarily in cold weather – and in 2009 the line was launched.
The project was extremely important that on the day of the launch of “Sapsanov” – December 17 – the railroad conference Day of High Speeds.
“There are many good trains, but Sapsan is one. There are no other trains traveling at a speed of 200 kilometers higher per hour,” Dmitry Pegov, Deputy General Director of Russian Railways, said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta in 2019.
Russian Railways is currently using 16 Sapsan, Kommersant reports. In 2019, Russian Railways and Siemens signed a third contract for the supply of Sapsan and their maintenance for 30 years in the amount of 1.1 billion euros, after which four out of 13 trains passed.
Siemens clarified to the BBC that Siemens Mobility will also completely withdraw from Russia, including participation in joint ventures. Interfax reported, citing the company, that Siemens Mobility will terminate the maintenance contract from May 13. The company served “Sapsan”.
BBC correspondent Andrey Zakharov – about how the coverage of “Sapsana” and SPIEF, and why the news about the departure of the German company Siemens from Russia is symbolic
It happens that two random news together sound symbolic: on May 12, Siemens announceda about leaving Russia, and Roscongress clarified the procedure for the arrival of foreign participants at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum – yes, it is still being planned.
It is clear that after the departure of Siemens, deliveries of Sapsan will stop. – Despite all the talk, it didn’t work out. And it is clear that if there are foreign guests at SPIEF, then some “marginal”, like “leading businessmen”
Sapsan and SPIEF – two symbols of the golden era of “Putinism”: the forum was a review of the Russian elite, accompanied by conversations about clothes and songs by Shnur, Duran Duran or Cure. And this elite left for the forum just on the Sapsan. Four hours instead of eight, soft chairs, silent running, polite wires, frail villages of the Novgorod region flicker outside the window, “Mikhalych, I’m just going to the forum, yes, yes, I’ll see you, of course, I hugged you.”
“I got a ticket for the next Sapsan, so jump up” – talked to a former St. Petersburg official who moved to work in the presidential administration and came home for the weekend. The German miracle train is a travel time between the two capitals for people like him. In order to increase the number of Sapsan trains, commuter trains were canceled, overpasses were built (although the cars still stood at the crossings by the hour), this was an element of Europe in conditions when reserved seat cars still ran somewhere in the regions.
Now this official put the letter Z on the symbol of the state building entrusted to him, he did not answer my messages for a long time: I – foreign agent. Will it entail a relationship between this Z and the fact that now Sapsan will try to replace it with some kind of Samsam, but without a guarantee that it will soon drive fast and will not be dangerous for passengers at all? I think that he is now preparing a stand for SPIEF, which is paradoxical.
The Russian side will monitor the condition of trains comparable to imported aircraft. According to Russian Railways, “maintenance of the Sapsan and Lastochka trains will continue within the framework of the current legislation of the Russian Federation on the status and control of the Russian Railways holding.” However, this does not completely solve the problem.
“You can replace spare parts with those that are in stock, you can even find some time by the structure of the analysis of imports of spare parts when they run out. But the problem is that the level of reliability that has been achieved has never been, because the life cycle management systems – a set of IT solutions – stopped working, “- General Director of INFOLine-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov.
According to the latest laws, it is possible to transport parts through third countries. Thus, on May 6, the Russian government published a list of goods for proportional import prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Siemens products are mentioned in several categories at once – in particular, “electrical machinery and equipment” and “boilers”.
Not only “Peregrine Falcons”
Another notable project in which Siemens participated is the Lastochka electric trains. Russian Railways ordered the development of Siemens in the same 2009, when the first Sapsan were released. The model of electric trains Seimens Desiro ML was taken as a basis. The train was identified in order to carry fans during the Sochi Olympics. Later they were redistributed to other suburban lines.
“Lastochki”, as well as various types of mainline electric locomotives in Russia, are produced by a joint venture between Siemens and the Sinara group – Ural Locomotives.
Back in March, the company’s plans were more optimistic. Interfax, citing Ural Locomotives, reports that further development of the project of high-speed electric trains in the production of new modifications is beginning – taking into account the possibilities of import substitution. According to the company, today the level of localization of the production of electric trains is 85%. It is not yet clear whether the release of “Swallows” will continue.
I remembered with this very unusual project of new high-speed routes in Russia. Vedomosti, citing its own sources, wrote that the Russian government intends to seek funding for a high-speed railway project between Moscow and St. Petersburg at the expense of the National Welfare Fund. Without this source, it will hardly be possible to find funding for the project.
In total, about three thousand people work for Siemens in Russia (data from Reuters). About 450 people observed them serving the “Swallows” and “Peregrine Falcons”at a glance“- there are basic and additional depots in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Adler.
What will happen to them is not yet clear. “Now we are working on detailed plans and adjusting our employees to the best of our ability,” Siemens explained in response to a BBC question about the prospects for Siemens Mobility personnel in Russia.
“The most key problem associated with the departure of Siemens from Russia is not a question of joint ventures, joint ventures in the field of electrical engineering, in the production of gas turbines, in the field of railway technology – this is plus or minus solvable. The problem is that the hardware should be replaced you can, but you cannot replace the management system, IT solutions,” says Mikhail Burmistrov.
Accessibility system, life cycle management system, serious sensors – this is what will be most difficult for an occupational safety expert.
Who doesn’t leave
Siemens in Russia is really engaged not only in transport. The company had projects on a variety of scales – industrial automation, building automation and security, energy, healthcare and others. Some of them do not leave Russia completely.
Siemens Healthineers AG, a medical equipment company, said it has the right to operate in Russia. “We do it strictly in accordance with the requirements.
Leasing company “Siemens Finance” intention Stay in the Russian market, but change owners – currently they are in the category of owners.
In 2020, as a result of the spin-off (spin off of the organization), Siemens Energy was formed (as of the end of November 2021, Siemens was confirmed as a shareholder) – it is responsible for energy-related projects. This company is one of the main power equipment groups in Russia. In particular, the company owns 65% in a joint venture with Power Machines – Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies (STGT). The company is also involved in energy projects in Russia and owns Siemens Transformers.
Siemens BBC did not explain the plans and Siemens Energy to leave the Russian market. A source familiar with the particular case told Kommersant that Siemens Energy uses a management buyout. So the company will be able to continue its activities in the country under the control of the government.
However, on May 11, Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said during a conference call that if the company decides to leave Russia, it is in an “orderly manner”, and is now looking for “meaningful solutions” for 1 of its employees in Russia (quotes from Interfax ).
In 2017, Siemens and its energy products were at the center of a scandal. Several turbines purchased from Technopromexport for facilities in Taman happened in Crimea. This was contrary to the sanctions regime imposed by the EU after the annexation of Crimea: European companies are prohibited from placing gas equipment on the peninsula.
In Technopromexport, which builds power plants in the Crimea, it turned out that the company purchased four of the turbines on the secondary market and modernized them at Russian factories. As a result, the EU imposed additional sanctions, and Siemens sued a number of Russian companies.
The court then noted that the implementation of state law by legal entities (to Siemens Gas Turbine Technologies) on the territory of Russia restricts and prohibits the application, “the direct basis of the law of public order of the Russian Federation and damages the sovereignty of the state.”
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