China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation Limited (CRRC), China's rail car manufacturer, is devoted to researching and developing locomotives that can travel at speeds of up to 400 kilometers per hour and also change tracks to better facilitate rail transportation between regions that utilize different track types, the company revealed on May 8.
CRRC's chairman of the board, Liu Hualong, revealed the plan at a press conference on the Belt and Road Initiative, held by the Information Office of the State Council. The press conference was hosted ahead of the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, set to kick off in Beijing on May 14.
Liu disclosed that CRRC has received orders totaling 10 billion RMB ($1.45 billion) from Malaysia in past three years. He added that, as a next step, CRRC will produce new technologies and products to better adapt itself to international transport and interconnection.
For instance, when designing motor train units for Malaysia, the corporation created specially designed carriages for female passengers as well as prayer rooms, bringing enormous convenience to both operators and passengers, according to CRRC.
In addition, Liu said that CRRC's products are in 83 percent of countries that contain railways across the world. In recent years, CRRC has received orders from many major cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and London.
CRRC's assets abroad have surged from 3 billion RMB up to 20.6 billion in just three years, from 2013 to 2016, with its total number of employees climbing from 509 to 4,808 in that same period. As of April, CRRC possessed 75 branches in 26 countries and regions, among which 50 were established after the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward in 2013.
