On 25 June, UIC visited the Hitachi Rail plant in Pistoia, Italy – a site with a long and storied history of rail manufacturing and engineering. The plant is a multi-product, multi-line factory, which designs and manufactures a wide range of rolling stock, including high-speed, regional, intercity, metro, and commuter trains, as well as hybrid-electric models.
The visit, the result of a collaboration between Hitachi Rail and UIC member Italian State Railways (FSI), included:
- Investigations into how new solutions and technologies can be implemented on hybrid and full battery trains for regional and long-distance transport through the UIC Rail System Forum working group Reduction of energy consumption and costs with new technologies or migration of electrification systems (ECO-ENERGY)
- A tour of Trenitalia’s production line for their new high-speed train Frecciarossa 1000 (also known as the ETR1000) and an insight into the company’s high-speed technologies
- Discussions on how implementing new sustainable technologies will impact the future of rolling stock
Future collaborations were discussed, including the possibilities of:
- Joint research and development (R&D) projects and technical strategies for digitalisation, predictive maintenance, AI, and asset management
- Participation in UIC working groups and taskforces on rolling stock and sustainability
- Events and knowledge sharing within conferences, workshops, and innovation programmes
UIC thanks FSI and Hitachi Rail for this insightful visit.
