CRRC unveils new MBTA car
Written by Railway Age Staff
China’s CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Company this week rolled out the first of four pilot transit cars for testing on Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
The ceremony attended by CRRC, government and MBTA officials at the builder’s Changchun, China manufacturing facility marked the occasion of the first Chinese railcar builder to enter the U.S. rail car manufacturing market.
Dignitaries took a ceremonial ride on one of the four pilot cars to be sent to Boston for testing on November 18 via the port of Shanghai.
“These state-of-the-art vehicles provide improved passenger comfort,” said Vice President of CRRC MA, Jia Bo, “and incorporate technology including solid state microprocessors, LCD passenger information displays, CCTV cameras, platform gap mitigation, automatic passenger counting and computer-based training simulators.”
The company is designing and manufacturing 404 subway vehicles for the MBTA, including 152 new Orange Line vehicles and 252 new Red Line vehicles. CRRC is constructing a $95-million, 204,000-square foot railcar manufacturing facility; a 2,240-foot dynamic test track, and a staging/storing area in Springfield, Mass., where assembly of the MBTA’s subway cars will take place.
The company was also recently awarded contracts for the Los Angeles Metro and Philadelphia’s SEPTA.
