Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) won an order to supply 300 half-height platform screen doors across Metro de Panama’s L3 monorail stations being built by Hitachi Rail, as part of the Grupo de Empresas Sunrise Monorail. It marks Wabtec’s first project in Central America.

The order is part of a project creating an entirely new 25km monorail line, served by 28 six-car trains (168 cars), along with the signaling, telecommunication and power systems. Wabtec will supply the platform screen doors, as well as provide the training and support for the installation, testing, and commissioning.

“As a pioneer in platform screen doors with multiple successful projects to our name, Wabtec is the natural choice for half-height gates for metro applications,” said Wabtec Transit President Lilian Leroux. “Having worked with Wabtec on a successful project to install half height platform screen doors on the Copenhagen metro, Denmark, the team at Hitachi knew our proven capabilities in this area. We are proud to play a leading role in ensuring the safety and comfort of passengers on the Panama metrolink, and in creating more reliable, secure, and robust metro networks the world over.”

Wabtec’s platform screen doors boost safety by acting as a physical barrier preventing people or objects from falling onto tracks or trespassing. Half-height screen doors are the ideal solution for enhancing safety on technically challenging outdoor rail lines thanks to their ease of installation.

“Having delivered one of the most advanced metro lines around the world – employing the latest digital technology – we know that the doors, platforms and stations have to work together with the rest of the systems to operate efficiently and provide a great passenger experience,” said Chris Singer, Director – Signaling and Turnkey Procurement, Americas Region, Hitachi Rail. “The gates contribute to making rail services more punctual and reliable by helping passengers board and alight trains in an orderly and safely fashion, thereby reducing wait times.”

This latest project in Panama reinforces Wabtec’s leadership in platform screen doors. Wabtec installed the world’s first doors in Hong Kong in 2002 and was recently selected to supply platform screen doors for the Marseille metro as part of plans to upgrade and automate its local transport network. The transport network in Sydney, Australia, along with metro lines in Paris, France, and Brussels, Belgium, have also installed Wabtec’s safety-boosting technology.

About Wabtec

Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) is focused on creating transportation solutions that move and improve the world. The company is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for the freight and transit rail industries, as well as the mining, marine and industrial markets. Wabtec has been a leader in the rail industry for over 150 years and has a vision to achieve a zero-emission rail system in the U.S. and worldwide. The company has approximately 27,000 employees located at facilities in 50 countries throughout the world. Visit Wabtec’s new website at: www.wabteccorp.com.

About Hitachi Rail

Hitachi Rail is a fully integrated, global provider of rail solutions across rolling stock, signaling, service & maintenance, digital technology and turnkey solutions. With a presence in 38 countries across six continents and over 12,000 employees, our mission is to contribute to society through the continuous development of superior rail transport solutions. We are proud of our global achievements, from our world famous ‘bullet trains’, to our signaling solutions and turnkey projects, state-of-the-art traffic management and digital solutions. Drawing on the wider Hitachi Group’s market-leading technology and research-and development capabilities, we strive for industry leading innovations and solutions that can deliver value for customers and sustainable railway systems that benefit wider society. For information about Hitachi Rail, visit www.hitachirail.com.

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