CRC pulls plug on gearboxes made by Voith

The country's railway operator, China Railway Corp, has asked German machinery manufacturer Voith GmbH to stop providing gearboxes to Chinese trainmakers for safety reasons, China Business News reported on Monday.

China Business News said a total of 45 technical breakdowns, including cracks and bearing faults, have occurred on Voith's gearboxes on the electric multiple unit trains on high-speed rail lines of Wuhan-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai and Harbin-Dalian after June 2012.

China CNR Corp Ltd installed more than 100 new Voith gearboxes earlier this year but said it found technical problems while operating them.