TRENITALIA has selected Alstom and Hitachi Rail Italy (HRI) for two framework contracts with a combined value of up to €4.5bn to supply up to 450 regional trains.

MILAN Transport (ATM) announced on March 29 that it will exercise an option with Hitachi Rail Italy (formerly AnsaldoBreda) for 15 additional Leonardo trains for metro Line M2.

STATE Railway of Thailand (SRT) has awarded a consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Hitachi and Sumitomo a Baht 32.4bn ($US 920m) turnkey contract to design, supply and install electrical and mechanical (E&M) systems for Bangkok's commuter rail Red Line.

THE first two vehicles from a fleet of 20 four-car driverless trains being built by Hitachi Rail Italy (HRI) for the Honolulu metro arrived in Hawaii on March 24.

THE first of seven new trains for the Genoa metro was unveiled to the media at Brignole station on March 24, before entering passenger service on the 6.5km line to Brin.

HITACHI Rail USA officially opened its new 13,000m2 rail vehicle assembly plant at Medley, Florida, on March 16, when the mayor of Miami-Dade County Mr Carlos Gimenez inaugurated the facility with the unveiling of a full-size mock up of the new metro train for Miami Metrorail.

JAPAN's Seibu Railway has awarded Hitachi a contract to supply seven eight-car EMUs for limited express services on its 1067mm-gauge network to the northwest of Tokyo.

A full-size interior mock-up of the forthcoming Hitachi class 385 EMU for ScotRail was unveiled at Edinburgh Waverley station on February 10 by Scotland's minister for transport and islands Mr Derek Mackay, ScotRail managing director Mr Phil Verster, and Hitachi Rail Europe managing director Mrs Karen Boswell.

HITACHI has begun production of a fleet of 70 class 385 EMUs ordered by last year by Abellio for the ScotRail franchise.