After winning a contract of US$85695 million (737 million euros), Hitachi Rail España will maintain the train fleet of private high-speed rail operator ILSA.

The agreement means that Hitachi Railways will maintain ILSA’s 20 new ETR 1000 trains for 30 years until 2052. A new team of more than 75 people will provide maintenance services for the new fleet in Madrid, including forecasting and corrective activities. The new train will start operating in the first half of 2022, connecting Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Seville, Malaga and Cordoba.

Roberto Vitali, CEO of Hitachi Rail España, said: “Spain is an important country for our service and maintenance business. In addition to this full service contract for the ETR 1000 fleet, we have also signed the maintenance of 53 in-service subways in the Madrid Metro network and Contract to maintain the infrastructure of the high-speed line from Madrid to Lleida."

ILSA's fleet is currently manufactured by Hitachi Railways and Alstom Group (formerly Bombardier Transport) at Hitachi Railways' Italian plant. Since 2015, ETR 1000 has been running in Italy. The first train is undergoing certification testing in Spain, while the second and third trains are expected to arrive before the end of 2021. Keywords: international engineering news, foreign engineering project information

The 200-meter-long train will be made of 85% recyclable materials and 95% renewable materials, and can accommodate 460 commuters. They will operate at commercial speeds of up to 360 km/h and are equipped with more spacious seats, 5G Wi-Fi and bar areas. Last week, Network Rail signed a contract with Hitachi Rail and Linbrooke to design digital signal technology for the Gloucester area of the United Kingdom.Editor/Baohongying