Photo/Illutration Dog-shaped robots are tasked with detecting any scratches on vehicles at Hitachi Ltd.’s newly opened railway factory in Hagerstown, Maryland, on Sept. 8. (Ken Sakakibara)

HAGERSTOWN, Maryland—Hitachi Ltd. announced on Sept. 8 that its new railway rolling stock factory here has commenced full operations.

The facility will supply railcars to numerous North American railway operators, including those for the Metro in Washington, D.C.

The railway industry is a core business for Hitachi, and the company is positioning the new factory as its largest North American hub, anticipating increased demand for rolling stock renewel and other needs.

The new factory is located in Hagerstown, Maryland, approximately 100 kilometers northwest of Washington, D.C.

Partial operations began in 2024, with production under way for Baltimore Metro SubwayLink cars in Maryland.

Randy Clarke, CEO and general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates six metro lines, said on Sept. 8 that test vehicles built at the new factory are expected to be introduced from late 2027.

Full operation is scheduled for 2028.

The total investment in the new factory is $100 million (approximately 14.8 billion yen).

Of this, 30 percent was allocated to the introduction of artificial intelligence and digitalization within the factory.

Quality control capabilities have been enhanced, for example, by using quadrupedal dog-shaped robots that walk around vehicles and detect scratches on their surfaces with their embedded sensors.

The factory has a maximum production capacity of 20 cars per month.

Hitachi also reports relocating its railway manufacturing operations from Florida, creating approximately 1,300 jobs at the new factory. 

Toshiaki Tokunaga, president and CEO of Hitachi, held a news conference where he acknowledged the “unpredictability of recent events," with the Trump administration's economic policies in mind, admitting uncertainty regarding the future of the U.S. market.

At the same time, he emphasized, “the U.S. is one of the most important markets,” and explained that Hitachi has invested more than $12 billion in the United States over the past five years.

“The aging infrastructure (in the United States) is a great opportunity for us,” said Tokunaga, indicating a commitment to capturing replacement demand.

While stating that the impact of the Trump administration's tariff policies on the new factory is minor, Tokunaga expressed concern "more about the impact tariffs have on the global economy.”

He added, “Particularly in the U.S., there are signs of a slowdown in investment in the digital sector.”

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