TOKYO -- Hitachi has landed a contract worth over 350 million pounds ($460 million) to build and maintain train cars for a British high-speed rail system.
The Japanese conglomerate will supply 135 cars to form 23 trains under the deal announced Friday. They begin operating in 2022 and will add capacity to services along the West Coast Main Line and in North Wales. The maintenance contract runs to March 2026.
Carbon dioxide emissions will be slashed by about two-thirds. The bi-mode trains can travel most of the way on electric power alone, switching to diesel fuel for unelectrified segments.
First Trenitalia, a joint venture between British and Italian rail operators that awarded the contract, is also expected to operate the High Speed Two rail project. HS2 will link London and Birmingham to Manchester, the East Midlands and Leeds, beginning service in 2026 at the earliest. Hitachi has teamed up with Canada's Bombardier to bid on supplying cars.
