HITACHI Rail says it will invest more than $C 100m ($US 71m) to develop a new generation of CBTC technology for use on urban rail networks around the world from its centre of engineering excellence at York Mills in Toronto.
The ninth generation of its Seltrac CBTC solution will integrate Artificial Intelligence, 5G, edge and cloud computing. “The next generation system will offer transit operators worldwide lower costs, minimised carbon footprint, and enhanced passenger experience,” Hitachi Rail says.
Hitachi is partnering with the Ontario provincial government and Invest Ontario on the project, which will create 100 new jobs and retain 1000 skilled positions, including research and development and engineering roles, at Hitachi’s York Mills office, which it inherited following the acquisition of Thales Ground Transportation Systems earlier this year. The lab is equipped with facilities including labs, testing areas and simulation environments.
The province is providing $C 4.5m in supporting funds for the project through the Invest Ontario Fund.
Hitachi’s moving block SelTrac CBTC system is currently used to operate more than 100 urban rail lines in more than 40 cities around the world.
