Canadian railway car deal struck
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-02-25 09:20

A consortium led by Canadian industrial group Bombardier signed a US$329 million rail passenger car contract with China's Ministry of Railways yesterday in Beijing.

According to the contract, the consortium will supply 367 cars for new railways to Lhasa, capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region in western China.

The consortium includes Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier Sifang Power (Qingdao) Transportation Limited - its joint venture in East China's Shandong Province - and Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co Ltd, a local company.

As part of China's efforts to develop its vast western region, these new rail routes from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, capital city of southern Guangdong Province, will open from June 2006.

Most of the rail cars operating on these routes will be made at the joint venture in Shandong, which was established in 1998 and has delivered 338 rail cars in China so far.

"This (the deal) represents another important commitment from Bombardier to China's railway development," said Zhang Jianwei, vice-president of Bombardier Transportation.

"These projects represent a very important technology challenge as trains will reach an altitude of 5,000 metres and will be exposed to Tibet's difficult environment conditions, such as low temperature, low oxygen and sand storms," Zhang said.

The trains will be equipped with unique state-of-the-art technology, the company said.

Last year, Bombardier Transportation won contracts worth more than US$500 million in China.

Besides the joint venture in Shandong, Bombardier has two joint ventures in Northeast China's Jilin Province and eastern Jiangsu Province.

The venture in Jilin produces metro vehicles, while that in Jiangsu makes propulsion components for rail vehicles.

Bombardier also has a wholly-owned venture in Shanghai - Bombardier Railway Transportation Equipment (Shanghai) Co Ltd.

Bombardier is the No 1 supplier to the Chinese regional aircraft market. At present, seven Chinese airlines operate 37 Bombardier airplanes.

The company employs 1,400 people in China.

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