In mid-2024, Hitachi Rail took over the Ground Transportation Systems (GTS) business unit from the Thales Group. With the acquisition of the specialist for railroad signaling systems, the Japanese company has positioned itself at the forefront of the global mobility sector. Hitachi Rail has set its sights on Germany, citing the world's largest accessible rail market – and at the same time the most challenging. “If we manage to give Germany modern rail transport, then other nations will follow suit,” says Markus Fritz, Vice President Markets Germany & Global Account Manager Deutsche Bahn at Hitachi.
Trials are already underway to show what could become reality in the future. Together with DB Cargo and partners such as Knorr-Bremse, Hitachi Rail is putting Europe’s first automated freight locomotive on the rails. For the current pilot project, on the Dutch Betuweroute, a DB Cargo locomotive was equipped with state-of-the-art ATO (Automatic Train Operation) and RTO (Remote Train Operation) technology for the first time. With this initiative, Hitachi Rail wants to support one of Europe’s most important transport policy goals: more freight on the railways. In addition, Hitachi Rail is working closely with network operator DB InfraGO to advance the “Digital Rail Germany” program. The company is currently primarily supporting the transformation towards digital signaling technology. But this is only the first step. Hitachi Rail can and wants to supply complete systems from the large corporation’s portfolio, including power supply for rail electrification and ultra-modern trains – the full range.