Hitachi Rail has completed the nearly 1.7 billion euro acquisition of Thales’ Ground Transportation Systems (GTS) business as of May 31. This acquisition expands Hitachi Rail’s operations to 51 countries, with a significant portion of its revenue now coming from signalling and systems.

The acquisition strengthens Hitachi Rail’s role in the global mobility sector, focusing on promoting public transport through digitalisation. The combined business’ pro-forma revenues reached 7.3 billion euros (1.1 trillion yen) in FY23, achieving Hitachi Rail’s target of surpassing 1 trillion yen (5.8 billion euros) annually. This growth supports the company’s shift towards higher-profit signalling and systems, which now account for 60% of its revenue.

Hitachi Rail’s global reach now includes key centres in Germany, France, Spain, and Canada, complementing its existing bases in Japan, Italy, the UK, and the US. This integration enhances its mainline and urban railway signalling capabilities, covering over 26,000 km of mainline railway and 4,600 km of urban metros worldwide.

The deal adds 9,000 skilled professionals to Hitachi Rail, bringing the total workforce to 24,000. This merger boosts engineering capacity and innovation, with a new Agile Innovation team leveraging expertise from GTS’ five global Digital Hubs & Competence Centres, along with Hitachi’s own digital strengths, to offer advanced solutions in signalling, ticketing, operations, and cyber security.

Giuseppe Marino, Group CEO of Hitachi Rail, said, “This is a significant moment for Hitachi Rail, expanding our reach to 51 countries and increasing revenues to €7.3 billion globally. With Thales’ GTS team on board, we are better positioned to drive the sustainable mobility transition and deliver advanced, technology-led solutions to our customers.”