Hybrid: Buzzword for the decade - The E2000

[Guest ___]

[bikkuri bahn]

I hope Hitachi makes an effort to sell this model (or a modified low-floor version) in the international market.  I don't want the Siemens Desiro ("disastros") to corner the market for diesel railcars.

 

http://www.hitachi-rail.com/products/rolling_stock/hybrid/index.html

[disturbman]

Bombardier made a very good product in France, the AGC who were delivered in EMU, DMU and EMU/DMU (dual-mode) sets.

 

The dual-mode seems to work perfectly and  mode switching is starting to happen on line (ie: running).

[Tenorikuma]

Bombardier is actually Canadian. :) Based in Quebec.

[disturbman]

I didn't imply anything different. I just that they I had made a very good product in France, not that they were french. :) In fact Bombardier is a multi-national. They have buy lot of businesses in Europe (and aroud the world) and actually own a very big factory in North of France. I think they are actually the second biggest train manufacturer and supplier in France. Their french branch even designed the new Paris suburban stock Francilien.

 

It's been a long time now since Bombardier started producing is Auto-Neige.

[bikkuri bahn]

Re: Bombardier- the trend in the rolling stock industry has been consolidation, with multinationals gobbling up smaller rolling stock and equipment makers.  Bombardier started out many years ago as a maker of snowmobiles- look at where they are now.  Alstom has expanded this way, as a matter of fact they bought a US signal equipment maker that supplied the DC Metro system of recent news.  This has not been the case in Japan, however.  Japan has a relatively high number of independent manufacturers, but they often have to cooperate with each other to complete big orders from JR companies, and lack vertical integration.  Also, there is the unique case of private railways making their own rolling stock- e.g. Tokyu, or Hankyu (Alna).

[Tenorikuma]

Re: Bombardier- the trend in the rolling stock industry has been consolidation, with multinationals gobbling up smaller rolling stock and equipment makers.  Bombardier started out many years ago as a maker of snowmobiles- look at where they are now.  Alstom has expanded this way, as a matter of fact they bought a US signal equipment maker that supplied the DC Metro system of recent news.  This has not been the case in Japan, however.  Japan has a relatively high number of independent manufacturers, but they often have to cooperate with each other to complete big orders from JR companies, and lack vertical integration.  Also, there is the unique case of private railways making their own rolling stock- e.g. Tokyu, or Hankyu (Alna).

 

In Canada at least, Bombardier's most high-profile business is commercial aircraft, and I believe they're the third-largest maker in the world. But they have their train, skidoo, and seadoo operations as well.

 

I'm no expert, but Japan's economy seems rather unique in the way that horizontal integration is much more common than vertical. Instead of top-down owner-subsidiary relationships, corporations prefer to form partnerships and integrated conglomerates — known as keiretsu or (before the war) zaibatsu.

 

As an aside, they've also developed a new high-efficiency manufacturing method that is an alternative to the linear assembly line and that makes them more flexible in changing or upgrading production lines. I had some difficulty translating a document about this last year, because this technique has not spread to the English-speaking world yet and much of the terminology is Japanese-only.

[bikkuri bahn]

Tenorikuma- you're lucky to be living right in the epicenter of Japanese transport industry- Toyota with autos, KHI, MHI, and FHI with aviation, and of course Nippon Sharyo in Toyokawa with railway rolling stock.  Up here in Hokkaido, I think all that's made are snowplows...

[Tenorikuma]

Heh, I've never heard of those aviation companies, but half of the industry in my city revolves around Toyota. There's even one railway (the Aichi Loop) that exists almost solely for their employees.

[bikkuri bahn]

The three companies involved in aviation are Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji (the M,K, and F + Heavy Industries).  They are involved in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner project, among other things.  Their aviation plants are all located in Tokai, and their products are flown out of (the Toyota-financed and until recently managed) Chubu International Airport.