Hitachi Rail has secured a contract to provide advanced technologies for a new underground metro line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The new line is the Sydney Metro West line, which is 24 kilometres long and will connect Greater Parramatta to Sydney’s Central Business District.

Hitachi will be one of the subcontractors to the Metro Trains West Consortium, which is a joint venture between MTR Corporation of Hong Kong and the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Limited.

Hitachi Rail’s role in the project will be to provide the Central Control Systems (CCS) and Integrated Communications (iCOM) that will be the basis for seamless operations of the new line and improve connectivity for passengers during their journey.

Elsewhere in Australia, Hitachi Rail provided a solution to test the functionality of switching between an existing interlocking railway signalling system and a new European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2), digital signalling system being installed in Brisbane.

It also upgraded the interlocking system of Rio Tinto’s autonomous heavy-haul rail network, with 1,900km of track between seventeen iron ore mines and four port terminals in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

“This is a significant achievement for the Hitachi Rail team and enables a successful continuation of deployment of these technologies that have also been delivered for Sydney Metro Northwest, City and Southwest. We are delighted to continue our involvement in delivering state-of-the-art technologies to Sydney Metro, enabling a worldclass metro service for Sydney commuters.”

Sarfaraz Samnakay, Managing Director at Hitachi Rail ANZ