Hitachi Rail is the rail business of the Japanese Hitachi group, covering rolling stock, signalling and train control, maintenance and turnkey systems. Its European base rests on two acquisitions: the Italian Ansaldo businesses in 2015 and Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems in 2024.
At the completion of the Thales deal in 2024, Hitachi Rail had pro forma revenue of EUR 7.3bn and 24,000 employees in 51 countries. Giuseppe Marino is Group CEO.
In February 2015, Hitachi agreed to buy the Italian train builder AnsaldoBreda and Finmeccanica’s stake in the signalling company Ansaldo STS. The deal brought plants in Pistoia, Naples and Reggio Calabria into the group.
At Pistoia, Hitachi Rail builds the Rock double-deck regional trains for Trenitalia. It also developed the Frecciarossa 1000 high-speed train with Bombardier Transportation, now part of Alstom.
Signalling after Thales
Hitachi Rail completed the purchase of Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems on 31 May 2024 for EUR 1.66bn. The deal added 9,000 employees and signalling on 26,000 km of mainline railway and 4,600 km of urban metro lines.
The European Commission cleared the acquisition on 30 October 2023 on condition that Hitachi divested its own mainline signalling platforms for interlocking, overlay and resignalling in France and Germany. A UK divestment was agreed separately to meet concerns of the UK Competition and Markets Authority.
At the time of the deal, signalling and systems accounted for roughly 60% of combined revenue. The Thales purchase enlarged a signalling business Hitachi had built on Ansaldo STS, so an operator or infrastructure manager can buy trains and ETCS train control from the same supplier.