Hitachi Rail has reinforced its long-term commitment to shaping the future of rail in Australia, with strong leadership in sustainable, digital solutions.
With an Australian legacy dating back five decades and more than 650 team members spread across its bases in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, the company continues to expand its capabilities across passenger, heavy haul and freight rail.
In his opening keynote speech at the AusRAIL PLUS conference in Melbourne, Hitachi Rail’s Global Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Marino set out a bold vision for transforming mobility in Australia – a rapid move towards a digitised, sustainable and resilient rail network that aligns with national economic, social and environmental priorities.
“Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads,” he told the audience. “Population growth, urbanisation and climate change are converging to create both challenges and extraordinary opportunities, that can be leveraged by Australian leadership in digitalisation and innovation.
“Globally, railways are powering the transition to more sustainable and connected societies, and Australia is combining its strong vision and capabilities to work towards a smarter, more efficient and modern network to the benefit of the country.”
Here, we share some of the key takeaways from his speech, along with some insights from Christian Andi, Head of Signalling Rail Solutions at Hitachi Rail, and Sarfaraz Samnakay, Managing Director for Hitachi Rail Australia and New Zealand.
Australia’s signalling future
Hitachi Rail is a trusted partner to operators around the world, delivering every part of the railway value chain, from manufacturing high-speed trains to digital signalling infrastructure, and operations and maintenance.
Its technology enables more than 18 billion passenger journeys and helps to transport millions of tonnes of freight every year.
In Australia, the company successfully delivered the control, communication and signalling systems that are enabling seamless operations across more than 100 kilometres of Sydney Metro, and continues to play an important role in the Paramatta Light Rail Project, bringing new connectivity to Sydney. In Queensland, it is deploying the European Train Control System/ETCS Level 2 as a next-generation signalling platform within the Cross River Rail program and across South East Queensland.
“ETCS is revolutionising the rail network as Brisbane prepares to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games – increasing capacity, convenience, efficiency and reliability, while maintaining the highest level of passenger benefit,” said Marino.
“It will allow more services to run more often, connecting with new roads and busways, supporting other transport projects in easing congestion. This will help to meet the challenges of population growth and to bring prosperity to the region.”
Hitachi Rail. Image: Hitachi Rail
In August 2025, Australia’s infrastructure and transport ministers agreed to align signalling technology across Australia’s major connected freight and passenger network, known as the National Network for Interoperability (NNI). All digital signalling introduced on the NNI in the future must meet mandatory ETCS standards.
Christian Andi, Head of Signalling Rail Solutions at Hitachi Rail, explained: “This is very important and positive news for Australia’s rail industry, because ETCS is a global standard that increases reliability, punctuality and capacity on rail networks without the need for new infrastructure.
“It contributes to sustainability – moving more people from private cars to trains – because you have a much more effective public transport system.
“This is a great opportunity for Hitachi, as we have a strong presence in Australia with local competencies to deliver this technology.”
Hitachi Rail has successfully implemented ETCS in several projects in Australia and has a global track record for excellence in this area.
“We have ETCS technology running across Italy, France, Spain and Germany, with both high-speed lines and conventional lines using the same technology,” said Andi.
“In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we have a huge deployment of state-of-the-art ETCS technology across some 480 kilometres including integration with existing freight-control centres, to deliver the UAE’s first-ever passenger line.”
A more connected rail network
Through its innovative digital solutions, Hitachi Rail is embracing a more connected future for Australia’s rail industry.
“Hitachi is one of the most diversified corporations in the world, with access to more than 107,000 digital and software engineers,” said Andi.
“Through our partnerships, we also have access to every kind of support – from the power engines of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions from NVIDIA, to applications for autonomous driving and intelligent traffic management from Google.”
He highlighted HMAX – Hitachi’s new digital all-in-one asset management platform, which can bring together data from trains, onboard signalling, wayside signalling, infrastructure, power lines and more.
“HMAX creates a digital twin of your entire rail ecosystem – harmonising software and data from customers’ core systems, additional sensors, and third parties to enable more informed and faster decision-making,” he said.
“Thanks to its predictive maintenance and intelligent asset and traffic management capabilities, it allows operators to reduce their energy consumption and operating costs, and increase punctuality and reliability using its intelligent traffic management solutions.
“Through AI and machine learning, you can predict issues before they happen, reducing downtime and transforming your operations.”
Transforming travel through high-speed rail
Hitachi has a proud global legacy in high-speed rail – from manufacturing Japan’s iconic Shinkansen bullet train to the Frecciarossa ETR 1000 trains that Marino said have “transformed travel” in Italy, France and Spain.
“With our trains, we have achieved over 200 million kilometres of service, setting the new standard for reliability, comfort and sustainability,” he added.
“We believe the ETR 1000 is an incredible platform for sustainable growth, designed to prioritise interoperability, energy efficiency, and the passenger experience.”
Marino said that in Europe, high-speed rail has been effective in addressing connectivity challenges, population growth and housing pressures – improving productivity, boosting tourism and creating local jobs, as well as contributing to decarbonisation.
He sees similar opportunities for Australia and warns against calculating return on investment based on potential revenue from ticket sales.
“The tangible and intangible benefits that this kind of investment brings to a society are incredible,” he said.
“It’s connecting cities, saving people time on travel and bringing productivity benefits that are of huge advantage to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of any country.”
Sarfaraz Samnakay, Managing Director for Hitachi Rail Australia and New Zealand, said Hitachi Rail has gained a lot of knowledge from its global experience in high-speed rail, and is ready to apply its learnings in Australia.
“In addition to our established local team based here, we have the bandwidth and the expertise of the global team which can come here and share that expertise.”
He continued: “Making ETCS a mandatory standard was a significant step forward, harmonising these ETCS standards across the NNI to enable a truly interoperable network will deliver substantial benefits to the rail sector.
“We’ve been talking about high-speed rail for a long time, and there are still a lot of challenges to overcome, but we are optimistic about the future.”
A greener rail industry
From 2015 to 2050, the number of people travelling in Australia is projected to double, Marino said.
“These people need to travel in a more efficient way – and rail is eight times more efficient than travelling by private car,” he said. “So, modal shift is a very important factor when we’re talking about how rail can contribute to Australia’s decarbonisation goals.”
Hitachi Rail is helping to transport more people, more efficiently by deploying cutting-edge signalling technology, and is constantly innovating to create more sustainable rolling stock.
“Our trains achieve low CO2 emissions, achieve high energy efficiency through aerodynamic design, extensive use of light alloys and energy recovery through braking, and are highly recyclable at end of life,” said Samnakay.
“As the rail industry continues to move towards digital signalling solutions, reducing the infrastructure footprint prominent with legacy systems, this positively contributes to a more sustainable and energy efficient operation.”
Looking to the future
Marino said Australia’s mobility transformation is progressing well, but there are still many challenges ahead.
“Australia’s choices today will define the region’s mobility for generations,” he said.
“We are here and ready to make this journey together. Let us move forward with courage, creativity and conviction.
“The task is clear, and the time to act is now.”
