Hübner wins ‘major' Hitachi Rail order for Washington metro

Kassel, Germany – Rail and bus components supplier Huebner Group has landed a deal to supply transition systems for use in trains serving the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

The German group will deliver 128 gangway systems to Hitachi Rail for the production of a new metro vehicle fleet in the Washington region, including parts of Maryland and Virginia.

The new 8000 series trains are set to replace metro vehicles, which have been in service since the early 1980s, Huebner said 22 May.

The new transition systems enable passengers move between cars for the first time in the Washington metro.

According to Huebner, a significant factor for winning the contract was the group’s local production facilities in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and Dunlap, Tennessee.

The transitions, said the German group, are designed by Hubner Manufacturing Corp. based in Mount Pleasant and will be manufactured by Hubner Component Solutions in Dunlap.

Huebner expects to deliver the transition systems from mid-2024 to early-2027 to Hitachi Rail, which aims to provide the first prototype of the new trains by 2025.

By the end of 2026, the new vehicles are expected to enter regular service, according to the Huebner statement.