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OUR SPONSORS

Proud Partner of the European Rail Congress

Hitachi Rail Europe – a total railway supplier for the 21st century

For nearly 90 years, Hitachi has worked in partnership with railway operators, industry advisers and financiers, supplying highly reliable products as a total railway system integrator. Hitachi Rail’s European headquarters is based in London.

Hitachi Rail’s breadth of rail experience and R&D programme has created new, innovative trains and infrastructure, providing advanced solutions in every aspect of rail travel.

In the area of rolling stock, Hitachi has developed the A-train design concept, based on a flexible system capable of adapting to a wide variety of operator needs. The A-Train family consists of the following train types:

  • AT-100 Metro
  • AT-200 Commuter
  • AT-300 Intercity trains.

The most successful version of the AT-300 in the UK is the Javelin™ train. Delivered six months early, the Class 395 train runs on HS1 between London and Ashford, and further to the Kent coast. From day one, passenger satisfaction surveys proved how a fast, reliable train service can increase passenger numbers. During the London Olympics, the trains provided the Javelin™ train service, taking over 2.4 million passengers on the 7-minute journey between St Pancras and Stratford.

In summer 2012, Agility Trains signed the contract for the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) with the Department for Transport. Almost 100 electric and bi-mode trains will soon provide a step change in capacity and reliability on the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line. They will be made and maintained in the UK by Hitachi Rail Europe, Agility’s biggest shareholder. The new rail manufacturing plant in Newton Acyliffe, UK, will provide employment for over 700 staff.

ETCS (European Train Control System) is among the core competencies of Hitachi Rail Europe. Trials with Network Rail to test and introduce ETCS on the Cambrian Line have successfully proven full interoperability with other systems, giving full flexibility to operators.

Hitachi’s Tranister™ Traffic Management System (TMS) is designed to manage speedy and efficient recovery of trains running from unexpected traffic disruptions. In a project for Network Rail, Hitachi Rail is one of three companies providing a TMS prototype for evaluation for future use in the UK.

Since replacing the traction packages on the Class 465 trains in the UK in 2009, the fleet has run over 25 million miles (40 million km) without a traction failure, making the retractioning programme an outstanding success.