Metro has awarded Hitachi Rail a $2.2 billion contract to build new rail cars to replace hundreds of older models which have been in use since the 1980s, according to a joint announcement.
The deal with Hitachi Rail Washington LLC includes the promise of a manufacturing facility in Greater Washington and the creation of some 400 “skilled trades” jobs to assemble the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s 8000-series cars, a company representative told the Washington Business Journal.
Hitachi Rail is looking at a number of locations in the region for the plant, Metro said. The agency expects on top of the manufacturing hires, there will be indirect jobs, for example constructing the facility.
WMATA would initially order 256 rail cars from Hitachi, with options to eventually reach 800. The contract would only reach $2.2 billion if they built all 800 cars.
