Japan’s Hitachi Construct New US Plant to Expand its Train Business in North America

Hitachi Ltd, a Japanese industrial conglomerate, is gearing up to expand its train system business in North America with the construction of a new assembly plant in the United States. Last week, the company held a ceremony for the assembly plant in Maryland, following the facilities of the company located in South Carolina and Florida, which manufacture signal and train systems.

Hitachi Ltd, has signed a deal with the Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to deliver around 800 cars and plans to start the production of advanced 8000-series models in 2024. This new fleet will be replacing the 2000-series and 3000-series, which have serviced the US since the 1980s.

Andrew Barr, chief executive officer of Hitachi Rail Ltd, said that they chose the site in Maryland because it offers some great links to transportation in Washington D.C., and several other northeastern regions.

Hitachi has already made contracts in Canada for orders including signal system maintenance for a planned train system with new entities such as the Ontario Provincial Government affiliate.

Andrew Barr added that the company is eager to supply train cars produced at the Maryland plant for the Ontario train system that will be in service from 2024. The company is also expected to create 1,300 new jobs in the area.