| Toshihisa Yamada | Rolling Stock Design Dept., Kasado Transportation Systems Product Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
| Hideshi Ohba | Rolling Stock Design Dept., Kasado Transportation Systems Product Div., Power & Industrial Systems, |
Faced with fewer skilled workers in the future and the need to reduce environmental impacts and life cycle costs, Hitachi developed the A-train, a futuristic next-generation aluminum railcar system based on a radical rethinking of railcar materials, construction, and manufacturing. Initially placed in service on commuter and suburban lines, the A-train has now also been deployed on some express routes. The A-train features (1) a precision, high-quality aluminum double-skin body constructed by FSW (friction-stir welding), (2) fully self-supporting interior modules, and (3) an integral hollow extruded mounting rail to which the modules are fastened. In addition to providing a quieter ride, better rigidity, and improved safety, the use of FSW technology results in sleek aluminum double-skin rail cars with virtually no distortion. Adoption of a modular approach for the interior has reduced the car production lead time, simplified the work involved in refurbishing railcars, and yielded other cost efficiencies. Finally, the combination of aluminum double-wall structure and module-mounting rail fastening was designed with recycling in mind to facilitate the dismantling of decommissioned cars and the sorting of materials.
 | Hitachi Rail-com |
| The Hitachi Hyoron (Japanese Only) |
A-train, FSW, modular design, crashworthiness
