9 December 2008
FIRST PRODUCTION UNITS OF HITACHI CLASS 395 TRAINS FOR HS1 SERVICE EMBARK ON JOURNEY FROM JAPAN TO UK ON TIME LONDON, 9 DECEMBER 2008 – Hitachi Rail Group (Hitachi) today announced that the first production standard sets of new Class 395 trains for Southeastern’s high speed service have been shipped from their factory in Kasado, Japan. The shipment follows successful testing of the first four units on the High Speed 1 line between Ashford and St Pancras and on the Kent DC network.
Alistair Dormer, General Manager of Hitachi Europe Rail Group, said: “Thanks to our colleagues in Japan, the first production standard trains of the new fleet of Class 395 rolling stock have left Japan on schedule and will arrive in the UK in February next year. Our customers HSBC Rail and Southeastern are satisfied with the quality of the trains and carried out a full inspection in Japan prior to shipping.” Once in service, the trains will significantly cut journey times on many routes. They will also play a key role in providing fast and easy access to the London Olympic Games at Stratford in 2012, and will link the site to London St Pancras in just seven minutes. Part of Hitachi’s A-Train product family, the new units will join the four test trains being maintained by Hitachi at the depot opened in Ashford, Kent, in November 2007.
Dormer continued: “In Japan, Hitachi trains have a reputation for excellent reliability, high quality and outstanding safety, and we are delighted that the shipment of our first trains will bring tangible proof of this to the UK market.” Notes to editors: Images are available upon request Website More information about Hitachi’s Rail Systems Industrial Group can be found at www.hitachi-rail.com Inquiries For further information, please contact: Daniela Karthaus Hitachi Europe 07920 205 631 Email: daniela.karthaus@hitachi-eu.com About Hitachi Europe Ltd. Hitachi Europe Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan. Headquartered in Maidenhead, UK, it has operations in 16 countries and employs over 5400 people across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As a 'Best Solutions Partner' Hitachi Europe tailors its services and solutions to meet the specific needs of its customers. Hitachi Europe comprises eleven key business areas: Rail systems, power and industrial systems; information systems; high performance computing; digital media, consumer products; automotive; air-conditioning and refrigeration systems; procurement and sourcing; and corporate technology group (research & development) and the Hitachi Design Centre. For more information about Hitachi Europe Ltd., please visit http://www.hitachi-eu.com .
About Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 390,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2007 (ended March 31, 2008) consolidated revenues totaled 11,226 billion yen ($112.3 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials, logistics and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com .
