The Welsh Government’s flagship Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) project has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hitachi Rail to test the latest rail technology. The agreement will see transport solutions provider Hitachi Rail test future rolling stock, battery technology, digital signalling and infrastructure monitoring solutions at the rail test centre in south Wales.
It will also develop digital solutions that can automate track, overhead lines and vegetation monitoring to pinpoint faults and reduce costs. GCRE chief executive Simon Jones said securing the partnership with Hitachi shows the calibre of clients the project will be working with at its facility.
He said: “The Global Centre of Rail Excellence that we are constructing in south Wales will be a site for world class rail and infrastructure innovation, somewhere that will be very well equipped to support both Hitachi Rail and Hitachi Energy in the cutting-edge work it does. This partnership is a strong, strategic fit for both parties.
