Chinese subway cars coming to Boston and other US cities

World Today

There’s been much talk about upgrading the United States’ aging infrastructure.

But there’s been no movement by the U.S. Congress. Many states, in the meantime, are taking on projects on their own, and partnering with China.

CRRC has become the first Chinese manufacturer to build a fleet of subway cars for one U.S. rail network. In the next decade, the company will build hundreds of cars for four American cities. First up: Boston.

CGTN’s Nick Harper reports.

It’s a jolt of modernization for America’s sagging infrastructure: the first Chinese subway cars to ride the rails in the U.S.

Chinese rail giant CRRC won contracts worth just over $1 billion to build 404 new carriages for the city of Boston.

Xianyi Jiang has been working on the project for two-and-a-half years at the company’s new facility in Boston’s suburbs. He feels this is just the beginning of the company’s involvement in America.

“We are ready to provide the service for the United States and we are ready to provide the best vehicles for the state as well,” Jiang, the Deputy Technical Director for CRRC said. “Believe us, we can provide the best vehicles, we can provide the best technology for the United States.”

Massachusetts’ governor was on hand to inspect the new carriages as they made their debut.

This deal represents a major Chinese investment for the state. The first cars were constructed in the Chinese city Changchun, but the rest will be built by U.S. workers at CRRC’s newly-finished assembly plant nearby.

More than a hundred subway cars are also destined for Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago over the next few years.

“This collaboration that we see here is really a win-win for both,” Luis Ramirez, the general manager of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said. “It’s exciting for us. It’s a great collaboration not only in the way we are manufacturing the trains but also in the way are providing the maintenance and the service for developing those plans.”

With Boston having America’s oldest subway system, dating back to 1897, people here feel it’s time for renovation.

The first fleet of cars should be hitting the tracks by the end of this year, with Boston’s roll-out spread over the next six years.