Japanese company wins bid to build high-speed trains in UK

Hitachi has become the first Japanese company to build a new generation of high-speed trains in Europe after it announced Thursday that it was involved in a deal to build and maintain trains for Britain’s high-speed rail (HS2) project.
Japanese giant Hitachi Rail and its French partner Alstom have signed contracts with HS2 to design, build and maintain 54 next-generation high-speed trains for 1.97 billion pounds ($2.6 billion), Kyodonews reported.
The HS2 trains are fully electric and energy efficient, and will operate at a maximum speed of 360 kilometers per hour, becoming the fastest trains in Europe.
The new eight-car trains between London and Birmingham will operate as the first phase of the British High Speed ​​Rail project.
Emphasizing the advanced technology and safety record of bullet trains, Japan is competing with China to win orders for high speed train projects all over the world.