Boston’s new subway car unveiled

China Railroad Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) is expanding rapidly in the US, and local communities are benefitting from it.

A mock-up of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)’s new orange line trains was unveiled at City Hall Plaza in Boston on Monday. Bostonians had a chance to get a glimpse of what their train to work or school will soon look like.

“I love it!” said Marcus Paker, a college student who visited the mock-up. “I used to take the Orange Line. It’s much brighter and more open. It’s a really nice change.”

“The MBTA is the oldest subway system in America,” said Brian Shortsleeve, chief administrator of the MBTA. “When we decided to upgrade and modernize our subway system eight years ago, we picked CRRC and they are doing a great job. We are really excited to modernize the subway system with these vehicles.”

“Boston has many firsts,” said An Zhongyi, general manager of CRRC Changchun. “In particular, the MBTA established the first subway of the United States here in 1897. We understand the primary commitment to having a public transportation system available to residents and visitors.”

In October 2014, railcar manufacturer CRRC won a $566.6 million contract from the MBTA to supply 152 railcars for the Orange Line and 132 cars for the Red Line to replace the cars now in service which were built by Hawker Siddeley Canada between 1979 and 1981.

Subsequently, the MBTA added a $277 million contract for an additional 120 Red Line cars, a deal that includes the option to purchase 14 more cars.

Assembly of the vehicles will be carried out by CRRC MA Corp at its 204,000-square-foot, $95 million plant in Springfield, MA, which is still under construction.

Car production is scheduled to get underway in April of 2018, with the cars entering service between 2019 and 2023.

The economic benefits the plant is expected to bring to western Massachusetts will begin with the hiring of 150 local employees.

Formed in 2015 with the merger of China CNR Corporation and CSR Corporation, CRRC is the world’s largest rolling stock manufacturer.

As an arm of China’s domestic rail transit industry, CRRC is meanwhile rapidly expanding in the US market by actively bidding manufacturing contracts. So far, the company has won bids to build railcars for Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

For the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) order, which was just announced on March 27, CRRC will build 64 subway cars as part of a deal that could be worth as much as $647 million.

LACMTA said in an statement that “The company had the highest-rated technical offer and lowest price, while offering the most robust local employment program and highest US component content,” adding that CRRC is meeting Washington’s “Buy America” provisions, which require 60 percent of components to be made in the US, according to Reuters.

CRRC plans to invest in a Los Angeles-based facility to manufacture major components, while the final assembly will be done at the new Springfield plant.

The Springfield plant will also do the assembly work for the recent $137.5 million deal to build 45 train cars for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

Jia Bo, vice-president of CRRC MA, said it is CRRC’s comprehensive strength that makes it stand out from other international competitors in bidding for deals.

“The transits see the maximum value from our projects,” said Jia adding that he believes there is a lot of room for ChinaUS cooperation rail transit.