Hitachi Rail

Hitachi Rail
Company typeDivision
IndustryRail transport
Founded1924
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom[1]
Key people
Giuseppe Marino (Group CEO)
ProductsRailway systems and Railway signals
Number of employees
24,000
ParentHitachi
A British Rail Class 395 train produced by Hitachi

Hitachi, Ltd. Railway Systems Business Unit, trading as Hitachi Rail, is the rolling stock and railway signalling manufacturing division of Hitachi outside Japan.[2][3][4]

History

[edit]

Hitachi built the first railway carriage in 1924 for the domestic Japanese market and soon became one of the main railway suppliers in Japan. By 1964, Hitachi was one of only three companies that built the world’s first fleet of high-speed trains, the Shinkansen. Hitachi also licensed the straddle-beam type of monorail from the German company Alweg, which it used for the Tokyo Monorail, the world's first commercial monorail service and one of the world's busiest monorail lines.[5][6] This product line still exists today as Hitachi Monorail, which is used in ten monorail systems as of 2024.

Hitachi's rail division delivered 120 CQ311 series railcars to MARTA from 1984 to 1988.

Hitachi Rail Europe (legally Hitachi Rail Limited) was established in London as the European headquarters of the company in 1999.[7] Other subsidiaries have been established globally.[8]

Hitachi markets a general-purpose train known as the "A-train", which uses double-skin, friction-stir-welded aluminium body construction.[9] Hitachi's products have included the designing and manufacturing of many Shinkansen models, including the N700 Series Shinkansen.[9]

On February 24, 2015, Hitachi agreed to purchase the Italian rolling stock manufacturer Ansaldo Breda and acquire Finmeccanica's stake in Ansaldo STS, the railway signaling division of Finmeccanica[10] The purchase was completed later that year,[11] at which point the company was renamed as Hitachi Rail Italy. Since then, Hitachi has obtained a majority stake in Ansaldo STS.[12]

In July 2020, Hitachi signed an exclusive agreement with Hyperdrive, a UK-based lithium-ion battery company, to bring battery-powered trains to the country.[13]

Late in 2021, Alstom announced the transfer of business relating to Bombardier Zefiro 300 to Hitachi Rail, as a condition of Alstom's acquisition of Bombardier put in place by the European Commission in order to remain compliant with EU competition law.[14][15] The transaction was completed on 1 July 2022.[16]

In late 2022, Hitachi Rail won the contract to supply train sets for the Ontario Line being planned in Toronto, Canada.[17]

In 2024, Hitachi Rail and MERMEC signed a put option agreement for the sale of Hitachi Rail’s main line signalling business in France and its signalling business units in Germany and the UK.[18]

In May 2024, Hitachi Rail completed the acquisition of Thales Group's Ground Transportation Systems for €1.66 billion. This move will help expand its global presence in the rail sector to 51 countries.[19]

In July 2024, Hitachi Rail won the contract to supply new M-5 trainsets for the SEPTA Market–Frankford Line in Philadelphia (PA), USA.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Our Locations". www.hitachi.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  2. ^ "Hitachi-Rail.com : Hitachi Railway Systems Website". www.hitachi-rail.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  3. ^ "Organisation". www.hitachi.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  4. ^ "Group subsidiaries". www.hitachi.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  5. ^ "Tokyo Monorial Service Opened". Railway Gazette: 793. October 2, 1964.
  6. ^ "Tokyo monorail opened". The Railway Magazine. No. 763. November 1964. p. 862.
  7. ^ "About Hitachi Rail Europe". Railway Technology. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  8. ^ "Group Companies". Hitachi. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  9. ^ a b "Hitachi Transportation Systems website". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Hitachi agrees to buy Ansaldo STS and AnsaldoBreda". Railway Gazette. 24 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Hitachi completes Ansaldo deal". Railway Gazette. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Hitachi buys shares in Ansaldo STS to raise stake to over 50 percent". Reuters. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Hitachi drives fast low carbon train travel with new battery partnership". Energy Live News. 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  14. ^ "ALSTOM SA : Alstom to transfer Bombardier Transportation's contribution to the V300 ZEFIRO very high-speed train to Hitachi Rail". December 2021.
  15. ^ "Hitachi to acquire Bombardier Transportation's contribution to the V300 ZEFIRO very high-speed train from Alstom". www.hitachirail.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  16. ^ "Alstom completes sale of V300 Zefiro high-speed train to Hitachi Rail". July 2022.
  17. ^ https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2022/11/221118b.pdf
  18. ^ "Hitachi Rail to sell signalling businesses to MerMec". Railway Gazette International. 2024-01-26.
  19. ^ "Hitachi completes €1.7 bn Thales GTS acquisition". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
  20. ^ "Hitachi Rail to build 200 new cars for SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line". Trains. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
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