Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
December 22, 2015
UK rail customers to enjoy faster, more comfortable journeys between London and Devon
and Cornwall from 2018 with trains built by Hitachi Rail Italy.
22 December, 2015 - Hitachi Rail Italy today announces that a new fleet of AT300 trains for the UK train operating company Great Western Railway (GWR) will be manufactured at Hitachi Rail Italy's facility in Pistoia.
Hitachi Rail Europe finalised a deal in July 2015 to supply and maintain 29 brand new AT300 trains for the GWR franchise, which operates trains between London Paddington and the West Country locations of Plymouth and Penzance.
Comprising 7 nine-car and 22 five-car bi-mode trains, the mixed fleet will allow for flexible use, including 10-car formations (two five-cars coupled together) for through services to and from London.
Maurizio Manfellotto, CEO of Hitachi Rail Italy, said:
"Hitachi Rail Italy is delighted to be selected to produce this fleet of prestigious new trains, which will bring new levels of speed and experience to fare-paying customers travelling between London and the West Country.
"A team from Great Western Railway and Eversholt Rail, GWR's finance partner for the new trains, recently visited HRI's manufacturing facilities in Pistoia and have been impressed with the quality of engineering and production.
"This production agreement for GWR is a further endorsement of Hitachi Rail Italy's train manufacturing excellence following the acquisition by Hitachi. We are hugely excited by this and the future opportunities that we are now able to create for our people in Italy as part of a major global force in rail manufacturing, and we are highly focused on delivering for the customer."
Mark Hopwood, Managing Director of Great Western Railway said:
"The AT300 trains are a key cornerstone of our strategy to deliver the biggest upgrade in a generation across the Great Western network, bringing more seats, and faster, more frequent services for our customers between London and the south west. Hitachi Rail Italy has a fantastic pedigree in building and delivering world class high speed trains on time and on budget, and we are delighted to be working with them on this project."
The new fleet of AT300 trains is closely related to the Class 800 bi-mode trains designed for the UK Government's Department for Transport InterCity Express Programme (IEP), but will utilise higher engine operating power to cope with the gradients in the West Country counties of Devon and Cornwall.
The AT300 fleet will run as electric trains before switching to diesel mode on non-electrified track, and is equipped with bigger fuel tanks to cater for the long distance journeys to Plymouth and Penzance.
Hitachi Rail Italy is specialized in the manufacture of technologically advanced rolling stock. Created by the evolution of AnsaldoBreda, the most important Italian brand with more than 160 years of history in the rail and metro sector, Hitachi Rail Italy has a wide range of products, ranging from high speed to driverless metros.
http://italy.hitachirail.com/en/.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Rail Europe Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Europe, Ltd. and is headquartered in London, UK.
Hitachi Rail Europe is a total railway system supplier offering rolling stock, traction equipment, signalling, traffic management systems and maintenance depots.
Hitachi draws on many years of experience as a leading supplier of high-speed trains such as the Shinkansen (bullet train) for the Japanese and international markets. In Europe, Hitachi Rail Europe's first rolling stock contract was to deliver a fleet of 29 Class 395 trains, the first domestic high-speed train in the UK, which are maintained at Hitachi's state-of-the-art depot in Ashford, Kent. As part of the British Department for Transport's Intercity Express Programme, Hitachi Rail Europe will replace the UK's fleet of intercity trains, and will establish a new rolling stock manufacturing facility in Newton Aycliffe, UK for this purpose. The trains will be maintained and serviced in a number of new maintenance depots along the Great Western Main Line and the East Coast Main Line.
For more information about the company, please visit: www.Hitachirail-eu.com.
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