Hitachi Rail has celebrated the start of passenger service on the final section of the M4 metro in Milan, Italy.
The South-West quadrant of Milan will now be served by the city’s metro, with the M4 line now extending to the San Cristoforo terminus. The full line spans 15 kilometres with 21 stations.
Hitachi Rail supplied 47 autonomous trains for this line and was responsible for key elements of the project, including the signalling system, third rail power supply, telecommunications, platform screen doors, the SCADA control system, and fare management.
The company also provided the ATC signalling system, using driverless CBTC technology for increased reliability and safety.
The trains can reach speeds of 80 km/h and operate with a frequency of one train every 90 seconds, reducing to 75 seconds during peak hours.
Each train can carry up to 500 passengers, allowing the line to transport around 24,000 people per hour in each direction.
“The completion of Line 4 represents another step forward for the citizens of Milan in the process of transitioning from private to collective mobility. The inauguration of the final section to San Cristoforo will have a significant environmental impact, with over 4 million fewer car trips each year. This is an achievable target, according to estimates, thanks to the comfort and reliability of our vehicles, and safety of our signalling systems, which will enable citizens to travel safely.”
