Chongqing's rail equipment industry goes global

The Chongqing-made subway trains are operating in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [Photo/Chongqing Changke Track Vehicle Co]

A new rail vehicle developed by Chongqing Changke Track Vehicle Co in Liangjiang New Area finished track testing on Oct 20. Unlike most trains, it is China's first railway vehicle that can seamlessly transit between urban and suburban railways.

One week later, news came that Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co will establish a new branch – Chongqing CRRC Times Electric Technology Co – in Yubei district together with a Chongqing transportation investment firm. The pair plans to develop a sustainable, intelligent, and low-carbon rail transit power supply system in Chongqing.

Gong Tong, president of Chongqing CRRC Times Electric Technology Co, said that the company will seek to promote the application of an efficient and clean power supply system in the municipality, and participate in the construction of Chongqing's rail equipment industrial cluster.

Industry insiders say that Chongqing boasts a fairly complete industrial chain in this area, with more than 40 firms scattered across the upper, middle and lower reaches of the chain.

Along with the further implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the growing rail construction demand of China's neighboring countries, Chongqing-made rail products have finally gone global, and are currently being used in countries as far away as Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Singapore.

Although weak links still exist in the industry, including a lack of sufficient industrial giants, dispersed rail resources, and relatively small operational scales, Chongqing is now playing catch-up with Guangzhou and Ningbo by drawing applicable experience from the two cities to form a rail equipment industrial alliance, as well as promote and accelerate technology transfers.