Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation and its group company Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd (Sumitomo Metals) have received an order for 240 bogies (for 120 rail cars) from Japan's Tokyo Metro Co. Ltd. The bogies equip the steering devices that have jointly been developed by Sumitomo Metals and Tokyo Metro.
According to a company statement, contrary to the conventional bogie with fixed axles, the new steering bogie is designed to allow the axle to self-align with curvature. This enables the bogie to run stably on curved track and reduce noise as well as wear of the wheels.
The bogies that have been ordered this time will be used for the new 1,000 Series cars of the Ginza Line of Tokyo Metro, and are scheduled to be placed in operation from spring 2012. This will be the first use of the steering bogie for subways in Japan. In addition, this is the largest order ever of steering bogies for railways in Japan.