Italian heart for the new Washington DC metro carriages. The Hitachi Rail project

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Is Italian the heart of the new Washington DC subway cars, the capital of the United States, which extends to Maryland and Virginia, with 6 lines, 98 stations and 206 kilometers of tracks. The new vehicles were previewed in Washington in the late afternoon of Tuesday 18 March (in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday in Italy) and until 3 April they can be visited on the National Mall during the “Fleet of the Future Expo”. The conception, design and project of the carriages (the so-called design authority) they are designed in the group’s Italian factories.

The wagons will then be built by Hitachi Rail in the new Hagerstown factory, which will open in June in Maryland, about a hundred kilometers from the capital. The first order of the 8000 Series will be built here for 256 carriages, with options of up to 800 carriages after completion of the first order. Including options, the value of the contract, signed in 2021, is approximately 2 billion and 200 million dollars.

Hitachi Rail’s Italian activities thus expand their international vocation, combining consolidated manufacturing skills with the most cutting-edge technologies and solutions.

The new Washington subway cars

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Explains Luca D’Aquila, COO Hitachi Rail Group and CEO Hitachi Rail Sts: «The United States represents one of our key markets. Our metros are already successfully in service at Honolulu to Miami. With the investment in the Hagerstown plant our presence is consolidated and reaffirms our growth ambition in the USA. The new 8000 Series metropolitan carriages – continues D’Aquila – will improve the travel experience of passengers. Our goal is to allow customers to offer increasingly integrated and sustainable transport services.”

He adds Michele Budetta, executive director and deputy for the vehicle sector of Hitachi Rail Group: «The 8000 Series is characterized by the use of the most advanced digital solutions, both in the design phase and in the commercial operation phase. These solutions allow remote diagnostic control and maintenance optimization, maximizing the reliability of the metro.”