Hitachi Rail USA, the American subsidiary of Hitachi Rail Italy, is pleased to announce the completion of a manufacturing facility for Miami Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works’ new Metrorail vehicles

The 140,400 square-feet plant, located in Medley, FL., will manufacture 136 cars and 272 motor bogies (it is the structural subassembly which is accommodating wheels, axles, motor and gear box)  needed  to  replace  the  County’s  Metrorail  fleet.  The  Miami-Dade  Department  of Transportation  and  Public  Works  contracted  the  production  to  Hitachi  Rail.  The  plant  was completed  in  approximately six months  and  received  the  Certificate  of  Occupancy  the  first week of January 016.

The assembly of the Metrorail vehicles begins this March, and the first completed vehicles will begin the qualification-testing phase by the end of the year. The first new Metrorail vehicles will be put into service in late 2017, after completing the testing phase. The production of the new Metrorail vehicles will last until the first half of 2019.

The construction of this new Hitachi production site involved more than 50 sub-contractors and uppliers,  principally  based  in  Miami-Dade  County  or  in  South  Florida,  and  required  the velopment of almost 50,000 man-hours of construction.

“This is the first facility that Hitachi Rail is opening in the United States, and we’re excited that the  company  has  chosen  to  invest  in  our  world-class  community,”  said  Miami-Dade  County Mayor Carlos Giménez.

“The opening of this production facility is projected to create 100 new jobs in Miami-Dade County and a positive return on the county area, in terms of sub-contracted services and supplies that the new facility will require, providing several business opportunities also  to  DBEs  firms. We  look  forward  to  working  with Hitachi  to  put  our  residents  to  work, further diversify our economy, and deliver cleaner, safer, more reliable and convenient mobility options to our 2.6 million residents.”

"The  production  system  that  has  been  prepared  for  Miami  allows  us  to  achieve  high performance  and  build  modern  vehicles  that  meet  the  needs  of  the  transportation  fleet  for Miami-Dade County,” said Kentaro Masai, COO of Hitachi Rail, “Our primary goal is to ensure a quality product in a timely fashion.”

“The opening of this new site and the launch of the new fleet represent an important step in the  expansion  of  our  company,” said  Maurizio  Manfellotto,  CEO  of  Hitachi  Rail  Italy.  “We remain consistent in the creation of relevant products that meet the needs of our customers.”

“This facility will enable us to increase our industrial capacity and build a vehicle that meets the requested  transportation  needs,”  adds  Manfellotto. “Hitachi  Rail  has  a  great  history  in  the United States and this project marks the beginning of the new direction under the management of the Hitachi Group.”