Hitachi Rail Global

Baltimore, USA, 26 July, 2017 - Hitachi Ansaldo Baltimore Rail Partners, LLC, a company established between Hitachi Rail Italy SpA and Ansaldo STS USA, Inc. (the US subsidiary of Ansaldo STS SpA), has been awarded a $400.5 million contract from Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) to provide a new metro fleet of railcars and a Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) system for the Baltimore Metro Subway Link.

The project features 78 state-of-the-art Hitachi railcars and the replacement of the existing signaling system with an advanced CBTC system by Ansaldo STS.

The new Baltimore metro has been designed to be highly innovative in terms of safety, passenger comfort and design, with a 30-year life-cycle capable of providing an average journey of 80,000 miles per year.

Each bi-directional vehicle will have a minimum composition of two identical stainless steel cars, "married pair", with the ability for multiple compositions. Each car has 76 seats and a total capacity of 196 passengers. The floor structure guarantees fire resistance for at least 30 minutes, in compliance with the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 130 requirements. Each car is fully-motorized, with an IGBT inverter per each motor bogie.

All interiors, seat layouts, arrangement of accessories, and heating and lighting systems are designed to provide maximum comfort to passengers and to meet the requirements for access, travel and movement under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). The vehicle is equipped with a ground / train communication system, a modern passenger information system and WiFi connection as well as a state-of-the-art integrated diagnostic system in the driver’s cab.

Particular care during the vehicle’s design has been given to the choice of materials able to reduce the weight and therefore energy use, in compliance with fire and smoke emission regulations, as well as to the maintenance of the new metro trains. The car head will be made of fiberglass and, combined with the presence of shaped LEDs, will deliver a modern and innovative design.

The Baltimore metro will be assembled at Hitachi Rail’s facility in Miami, Florida where metros for Miami Dade County are currently being manufactured. The first trainset for Baltimore Metro will enter into revenue service in 2021.

"With the Baltimore metro,”said Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy,“Hitachi is confirming its commitment and presence in the important U.S market. Not only will Hitachi provide new rail vehicles for the project but also the signaling, allowing our business to fully contribute to the development of passenger mobility for the US. Our goal is to always to satisfy the requirements of our customers and to provide innovative products which meet the needs of security, technology and sustainability.”

The award of the Baltimore project marks Ansaldo STS’s largest win in North America and represents a significant milestone in the company’s recognition as a major North American CBTC provider. The company has already successfully delivered and is delivering CBTC projects of similar caliber both in North America and globally. Ansaldo STS will integrate a new CBTC system into the existing 15.5 miles of MTA infrastructure.

"This landmark contract builds on the strong presence Ansaldo STS has in North America and represents our commitment to the improvement of MTA’s transit system. I am pleased that this is a strong example of the benefits of working in partnership with Hitachi to deliver this new high quality railway"said Andy Barr, CEO and General Manager of Ansaldo STS.

• New technology to automatically adjust train frequency to best cater for change in passenger numbers

Ansaldo STS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Metroselskabet to develop a Proof of Concept for a new Dynamic Headway solution leveraging Hitachi technologies for the Copenhagen Metro M1/M2.

The new Dynamic Headway solution will be designed using both Ansaldo STS’s train control systems and Hitachi’s digitalization and IoT (Internet of Things) technology to detect congestion through sensors at stations in order to analyse demand.And based on the demand analysis, the number of trains can be optimized automatically, responding dynamically to sudden change in passenger numbers.

This is particularly useful during increases in demand due to events along the route. A dynamic solution will help resolve congestion before it impacts on passengers, thereby increasing passenger satisfaction. For the operator, this highly responsive solution, which adapts the number of trains to real-time demand, means saving energy and operation costs by increasing utilisation of services.

Henrik Plougmann Olsen CEO of Metroselskabet said “Exploring ways to optimise delivered capacity to make it as efficient as possible is critical to minimising the cost of provision of public transportation.Metroselskabet is keen to encourage and participate in activities that can yield economies to our services.We are happy to contribute to this initiative with Ansaldo STS that will combine the latest advances in data management and control systems to create a solution that could improve the services we provide.”

Alistair Dormer, Chairman of the Board, Ansaldo STS and Group CEO of Hitachi Rail said: “Hitachi’s Dynamic Headway Solution combined with Ansaldo STS’s driverless technology is developed based on our joint Digitalisation strategy by utilising Hitachi’s IoT platform “Lumada”. In the long term, we plan to integrate the Dynamic Headway technology in our CBTC offering. As a global technology provider, we bring innovative solutions like this to our customers, combining the world-class know-how of Ansaldo STS and its majority shareholder Hitachi.”

Andy Barr, CEO of Ansaldo STS, said: “Having worked closely with Metroselskabet for 18 years now, we are delighted to sign today’s MoU for the provision of a new, passenger-focused system. With automation technology such as the Dynamic Headway Solution, both passengers and operators benefit from timely trains automatically adapting to demand. We are delighted to continue our close partnership with Metroselskabet to keep Copenhagen Metro on the forefront of passenger-friendly travel.”

A prototype solution will be available on site by the end of 2017, potentially followed by full development and implementation targeting Copenhagen M1/M2 and Cityringen project.

Copenhagen's driverless metro system became operational in October 2002, and Ansaldo STS has managed the system ever since. This partnership has been highly successful: the metro system won the awards for “Best metro in the world” and “Best metro in Europe” by the International Metrorail 2008 Conference, as well as being named “Best driverless metro” in 2009.

The Copenhagen Metro line consists of 21 km of double track (10 km underground and 11 km of elevated track) and passes through 22 stations connecting the various parts of the city centre, the area of Ørestad and the airport. Its 34 unattended trains travel at a maximum speed of 80 km/h, ensuring that passengers havetwo minutes to wait during peak hours, and are guaranteed a 24-hour service.

Virgin Trains’ customers are a step closer to new trains as work begins on the Azuma (Class 800) fleet, due to enter service on the east coast in 2018.

Work on the bodyshells is taking place in Kasado, Japan, before the trains arrive in the UK to be built by Hitachi’s manufacturing team at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which is home over 900 employees including 50 apprentices. UK build work on the Virgin Azuma will begin this summer.

The Virgin Azuma will transform travel and customer experiences when it arrives on the east coast main line next year. The fleet of 65 trains will provide an extra 12,200 seats, and faster journeys will make direct routes to new destinations such as London-Middlesbrough possible, as well as a big increase in through services from London to places such as Bradford, Harrogate and Lincoln.

David Horne, Managing Director of Virgin Trains on the east coast, said: “We are very excited to be moving closer to the day when our fantastic new train comes into service. The arrival of Azuma in 2018 will mark another milestone on our journey towards totally transforming travel for our customers, and the work happening now in Kasado and beginning in the summer at Newton Aycliffe are important steps on that journey.”

Karen Boswell, Managing Director at Hitachi Rail Europe, said: “The new Azuma fleet will be a combination of Japanese design and British manufacturing. The trains are built using Japanese bullet train technology, world famous for its quality and reliability. We are proud that our Newton Aycliffe team, based a short distance from the East Coast main line, will work on pioneering trains used by millions of passengers”