Hitachi Rail selected Hübner to deliver gangway systems for Washington metro trains allowing passengers to comfortably walk from one car to another during their journey.
The Hübner is supplying Hitachi Rail with a total of 128 gangway systems for the production of Metro’s new fleet of vehicles. The gangways are custom designed by Hübner Manufacturing Corporation (HMC), based in Mount Pleasant near Charleston, South Carolina and will be manufactured by Hübner Component Solutions (HCS) in Dunlap, Tennessee.
“We are delighted that we were able to convince our partner Hitachi Rail with our tailor-made gangway systems. In many metros in the U.S., gangways between train cars are not yet as common as in other parts of the world. We are proud that our systems will help to increase passenger comfort and the performance of the metro in the National Capital Region in the future,” Ignazio Rizzo, the responsible key account manager at the Hübner Group said.
Hübner will deliver the gangway systems from mid-2024 to early 2027. The goal is to make available the first prototype of the new trains for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA Metro) by Hitachi Rail in 2025. The new vehicles are expected to go into regular operation in late 2026.
Hitachi Rail won a USD 2.2 billion contract to deliver 8000–series Washington metro trains. The base order covers the supply of 256 railcars and options for up to 800 vehicles. The trains will operate the metropolitan area that includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginina and Maryland where Hitachi Rail builds a USD 70 million train factory also equipped with test track.
The new 8000-series trains are expected to replace the 2000- and 3000-series vehicles that have been in service since the early 1980s. For the first time, passengers in National Capital Region of Washington will now have open gangways between the cars, which not only increases comfort, but also passenger flow and, last but not least, transport capacity.
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