Prototype HART trainset unveiled
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-ChiefThe Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) on May 2, 2016 publicly unveiled the prototype four-car driverless trainset for the new Honolulu Metro, which is schedule to open in about two years.
Train # 1 was unveiled at the Rail Operations & Control Center. Ansaldo Honolulu Joint Venture (AHJV), a consortium of Hitachi Group Companies Ansaldo STS (ASTS) and Hitachi Rail Italy (HRI), presented the trainset to the city of Honolulu and HART. HRI is responsible for the design, manufacturing and testing of 20 trains for the system, described as “the first driverless rail transit system in the U.S.” The Honolulu Metro is a DBOM (design-build-operate-maintain) project.
Ansaldo STS is responsible for the design, manufacturing, installation and testing of signaling, traction electrification, communications, platform screen doors and other systems, including maintenance and recovery vehicles. Ansaldo STS is also responsible for the first 12 years of operations and maintenance.
Train # 1 was delivered on time, according to Hitachi Rail Italy CEO Maurizio Manfellotto. “The successful achievement of meeting this deadline represents another important step forward in the consolidation of Ansaldo STS and Hitachi Rail Italy in the U.S.,” he said.
The initial section of the Honolulu Metro, from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, is slated to open in 2018. The entire system, from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center, is set to be fully operational in late 2021.
In 2015, Hitachi signed a binding agreement with Finmeccanica for Hitachi’s acquisition of Finmeccanica’s AnsaldoBreda business, excluding some residual contracts, and of Finmeccanica’s entire stake in Ansaldo STS, including Ansaldo STS USA, the former Union Switch & Signal.
