The China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation recently broke ground on a 60 million dollar plant in Massachusetts. This makes state-owned CRRC the first Chinese rail car manufacturer to win a major transit contract in the U.S.
The rail cars boast an average speed of 218 miles per hour and will be used in Boston’s subway system by 2018.
A provision to build the the rail cars in Massachusetts was a key selling point. Argentina also got on board with CRRC to revamp its ailing transit system. Three Chinese firms merged in June to form CCRC.
It is part of a government effort to export more skills and technology. China plans to connect all its major cities by high-speed rail this year.
In 2013, China’s high-speed rail lines clocked more passenger miles than the rest of the world combined.
For more on China’s high speed rail industry, CCTV’s Phillip Yin spoke to Zhao Jian, a Professor at Beijing Jiaotong University’s School of Economics and Management.