China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) officially opened an industrial park at Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone on Sept 12.
Authorities expect that the first locally-made subway train will roll off the assembly line during the second-half of 2017 and go into operation on Urumqi’s metro line 1. It will fill a gap in the manufacturing of rail transit equipment in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The first phase of the park occupies an area of 150,000 square meters and will eventually be able to manufacture 150 urban rail vehicles each year.
The industrial park comprises an important part of the CRRC’s implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, and it also substantializes the cooperation agreement signed between the company and the Urumqi government in July. The company will manufacture bullet trains, subways, and locomotives.
During the inauguration ceremony, government officials promised that they will offer help during the construction phase of the industrial park. Representatives of CRRC said that the company will exert their own advantages to build a high-end manufacturing base for Xinjiang.
Edited by James Skinner