TORONTO — Hitachi Rail and provincial business agency Invest Ontario are partnering on a more than Ca$100 million investment to develop a new generation of Communications Based Train Control signal technology.
The effort will develop a CBTC system known as SelTrac (G9), including artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and edge and cloud computing. It will include expansion of Hitachi’s Toronto workforce, creating 100 new jobs and retaining 1,000 positions in its York Mills office.
Ziad Rizk, Hitachi Rail’s managing director, urban rail signaling, said in a press release that the system “will allow urban rail transportation operators around the globe to improve passenger journeys and operate more efficiently. This Ontario-invented technology is a Canadian success story that is creating jobs and boosting economic growth.”
CBTC uses wireless communications to operate transit and subway systems more efficiently and safely than conventional signaling; the SelTrac system is the first moving-block CBTC system and is currently operating on more than 100 lines in 40 cities worldwide.
“Through Invest Ontario, we are proud to support Hitachi Rail’s expansion in Toronto and thank them for choosing our province as the ideal place for their continued growth and success,” said Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade. Ontario is providing Ca$4.5 million in support through the Invest Ontario Fund.
