PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY
Committed to sustainability Hitachi is a fully integrated global provider of rail solutions across rollingstock, signalling, services and turnkey projects. With a presence in 27 countries, it believes its commitment to sustainability can make a difference.
T
HE RAIL SECTOR IS INTIMATELY connected to everyday life, putting it in a unique position to offer solutions to societal issues, such as the challenges of population growth and urbanisation. The global population is forecast to grow to approximately 10.8 billion by 2080, placing pressure on transportation networks, and there are already more people living in urban areas than rural ones. As society seeks ways to ease congestion in high-density areas, metro trains, trams and monorails become increasingly attractive. Connecting cities is an area in which Hitachi believes it can make a difference. Rail is an environmentally friendly alternative to car and air travel, producing 3-5 times less CO2 per passenger kilometre, and Hitachi is striving to develop more energy-efficient products and technologies, including electric and hybrid trains. Technologies like autonomous drive will also create new opportunities. If people can buy tickets for the entire journey rather than the train, riding to and from the station by a driverless car, rail may see wider use even as it undergoes new transformations as part of the transport ecosystem.
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ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS
Hitachi faces challenges such as delays in production, reliability issues and not delivering on easing congestion, all of which have the potential to undermine operations. To tackle these risks, Hitachi is implementing efficient production facilities, effective project management, robust testing and commissioning, and stringent quality assurance and control. For example, the Dynamic Headway solution, which is now undergoing feasibility studies in Copenhagen, aims to monitor passenger numbers with sensors at stations and optimize the number of trains needed, automatically, to reduce station congestion and improve energy efficiency. If the monitoring technology fails, neither of those goals would be achieved. Innovation and sustainability are key in the rail industry, and the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) underpin much of Hitachi’s work. At the same time transportation is a fundamental element in every city’s development as transport enhancements and improvements in connectivity let people enjoy wider opportunities and benefits. Managing director at Hitachi Information Control Systems Europe, Tim Gray, stated
17 SDG Goals.
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