Hitachi is a Japanese headquartered multinational transport manufacturer active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling and locomotives that is recognized for Business Expansion, Environmental, Innovation and Research and Development in the 2022 Railway Technology Excellence Awards.
The company has been working hard to construct a new railcar facility in Maryland, US, developed with an investment of $70m. The new facility will be used for the construction of new 8000-series railcars for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro). It also secured a contract to modernise Queens Interlocking and deploy a new signal solution at a complex of switches near Queens Village.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Hitachi also secured a maintenance contract from ILSA, which will see Hitachi Rail maintain ILSA’s 20 new ETR 1000 trains for 30 years, until 2052. The company will also supply N100 express trains for Tobu Railway, the N100 express trains will run in six carriage formation and feature 212 seats; to be built at Hitachi Rail’s Kasado Works, the new trains will take the place of the previous Spacia 100 series, which have been running since 1990.
Another highlight saw the company secure a $2.6bn HS2 contract for the design, construction and upkeep of 54 electric trains; these 200m-long, eight-car trains will be built at facilities located in County Durham, Derby and Crewe.
In regards to environmental initiatives, the company also secured a deal for the supply of renewable energy for its infrastructure.
Hitachi has also collaborated with another company to strengthen its freight service. Under this partnership, Hitachi’s current digital freight service will incorporate new sensors that support real-time monitoring; these sensors help in verifying the precise location of railcars, loading status, open/close condition of doors and hatches, temperature and pressure of the cargo, along with the state of bogies and wheelsets.
Other innovations included a collaboration on tri-mode train development, whereby a battery will replace one of the diesel engines on a five-car GWR Class 802 train.
Finally, Hitachi has also been trialing a smart mobility suite to connect Genoa’s transport modes; the suite enables smart ticketing, traffic flow management, and e-charging via a common analytics platform.
Company Profile
Hitachi is a multinational company with operations in sectors such as engineering and electronics, nuclear, transportation and industrial systems.
The company manufactures and sells information and telecommunication systems, power systems, social infrastructure and industrial systems, construction machinery, electronic systems and equipment, automotive systems, and smart life and eco-friendly systems.
Its products and services find application in various markets including manufacturing, communications, finance, healthcare and life science, government, energy and transportation, distribution, industry and urban. Hitachi caters its services to global automobile, aerospace, nuclear, and computer industries.
It operates through affiliates, subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures in Asia, North America and Europe. Hitachi is headquartered in Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan.
