Rail transit industry expo wows crowds with state-of-the-art models

The 2018 China (Hunan) International Rail Transit Industry Expo held in Changsha brought state-of-the-art models and products developed by China Railway Signal & Communication Co Ltd to visitors from home and abroad, showcasing the city's aspirations to become a springboard for the rail industry.

These models were made at the CRSC Changsha Industrial Park. With a 5 billion yuan ($719 million) investment, the park started operations in March and became the largest park in value and scale that CRSC has ever built.

As China's railway control systems provider and the world's biggest rail transit system solutions provider, State-owned CRSC has long striven to independently develop technologies and products, shrugging off a reliance on foreign counterparts that come at higher costs.

Many of CRSC's solely funded subsidiaries, including CRSC (Changsha) Railway Traffic Control Technology Co Ltd, Tong Hao Railway Vehicle Co Ltd, are located in the park.

Su Ming, president of CRSC Tong Hao Railway Vehicle, said that CRSC thinks highly of services provided by Changsha municipal government and Hunan's industrial base. "CRSC's plans nicely dovetail with the government's attempt to develop rail transit transportation and foster an entire industry chain", Su added.

Some 150 or 200 trams are scheduled to be produced annually. CRSC's yearly output and tax revenue are expected to exceed 10 billion yuan and 400 million yuan respectively when the projects bear fruit.

Thanks to CRSC's contribution, Changsha has formed an advanced rail transit equipment industry chain, ranging from trams to maglev vehicle equipment and rail transit signal systems.

The manager of CRSC Vehicle said that CRSC had successfully developed a 100 percent low-floor tram, mounted monorail train and a straddle-type monorail train. These trains embody the idea of environmentally friendly and low-cost vehicles and can be applied to urban traffic systems at home and abroad. CRSC Changsha Industrial Park serves as a production facility, as well as a repair station, he added.

In one of its latest orders, CRSC Vehicle received an order to build a tram demonstration line in Tiashui, Gansu province, the company's first project covering the whole industry chain.

This first Changsha-made tram is due to arrive at Tianshui in March 2019.