 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom[1] |
Key people | Giuseppe Marino (Group CEO) Mitsuo Iwasaki (Head of Japan Business)[2] Katsumi Ihara (Chairman of the board)[3] |
| Products | Rolling stock andRailway signals |
Number of employees | 24,000 |
| Parent | Hitachi |
| Website | www |
Hitachi, Ltd. Railway Systems Business Unit,trading asHitachi Rail, is therolling stock andrailway signalling manufacturing division ofHitachi outside Japan.[4][5][6]
After the demand for ships decreased following the end of theFirst World War, Hitachi, under its founderNamihei Odaira, acquired the Kasado Factory inKudamatsu,Yamaguchi from a nearly bankrupt shipbuilder.[7] This factory was converted into a locomotive manufacturing facility. In the 1920s, Hitachi's railway products included theJNR Class ED15 locomotives, the first electric mainline locomotives built in Japan,[8] and steam locomotives such as theClass 8620 andClass D50.[7] As mainline electrification progressed, Hitachi developed and produced much larger and more powerful electric locomotives, such as theClass EF55 streamliners (1936), the Class EF56 (1937), and theClass EF57 (1940). During this time, Hitachi also supplied locomotives to colonies in Taiwan, Korea, and theSouth Manchuria Railway.
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After theSecond World War, Hitachi primarily manufactured locomotives and other railway equipment for two decades. During this period, the company built theClass C62 locomotives, the largest and fastest steam locomotives in Japanese rail history.[7] One of these, C62 17, still holds the world steam speed record for narrow-gauge tracks at 129 km/h. Another notable Hitachi-built locomotive was theEF58, which operated on theTokaido Main Line express trains alongside the C62. In the 1950s, diesel locomotives were introduced on non-electrified lines in remote parts of Japan. Japanese National Railways adopted two types of mainline diesel locomotives: thediesel-electric DF50 and thediesel-hydraulic DD51. Hitachi was involved in the development and manufacturing of both.[9]
In the 1950s, Hitachi began buildingelectric multiple units (EMUs). Early examples include theClass 1000 Shinkansen prototypes (1962), the0 Series Shinkansen (1964), and theSeries 485 dual-voltage express train (1964).[7] Hitachi has been involved in the development of nearly all types ofShinkansen rolling stock, as well as their operating systems, includingautomatic train control. Hitachi also licensed the straddle-beam type ofmonorail from the German companyAlweg, which it used for theTokyo Monorail in 1964, the world's first commercial monorail service and one of the world's busiest monorail lines.[10][11] This product line still exists today asHitachi Monorail, which is used in ten monorail systems as of 2025.
Hitachi's rail division delivered 120 CQ311 series railcars toMARTA from 1984 to 1988.
Hitachi Rail Europe (legallyHitachi Rail Limited) was established inLondon as the European headquarters of the company in 1999.[12] Othersubsidiaries have been established globally.[13]
Hitachi markets a general-purpose train known as the "A-train", which usesdouble-skin,friction-stir-weldedaluminium body construction.[14] Hitachi's products have included the designing and manufacturing of manyShinkansen models, including theN700 Series Shinkansen.[14]
On February 24, 2015, Hitachi agreed to purchase the Italian rolling stock manufacturerAnsaldo Breda and acquireFinmeccanica's stake inAnsaldo STS, therailway signaling division of Finmeccanica[15] The purchase was completed later that year,[16] at which point the company was renamed asHitachi Rail Italy. Since then, Hitachi has obtained a majority stake in Ansaldo STS.[17]
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.[18] In October 2020, Hitachi Rail won the contract to supply the8000 series of railcars for theWashington Metro.[19] It opened a plant inHagerstown, Maryland in 2025 for the US market, replacing its previous plant inMedley, Florida.[20][21]
Late in 2021,Alstom announced the transfer of business relating toBombardier Zefiro 300 to Hitachi Rail, as a condition of Alstom's acquisition ofBombardier put in place by theEuropean Commission in order to remain compliant withEU competition law.[22][23] The transaction was completed on 1 July 2022.[24]
In late 2022, Hitachi Rail won the contract to supply train sets for theOntario Line being planned inToronto, Canada.[25]
In May 2024, Hitachi Rail completed the acquisition ofThales Group's Ground Transportation Systems for €1.66 billion. This move will help expand its global presence in the rail sector to 51 countries.[26]Thereafter Hitachi Rail andMERMEC 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.[27]
In July 2024, Hitachi Rail won the contract to supply new M-5 trainsets for theSEPTA Metro'sMarket–Frankford Line inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, US.[28]
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