Chinese EMUs set to make debut Down Under

By Wang Danna (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-11-04 13:21

The first set of stainless steel double-deck high-speed electric multiple units (EMUs) manufactured for New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, rolled off the production line last week in Changchun, northeast China’s Jilin province. They are the first Chinese passenger rail coaches ever accepted for service in a developed country.

The delivery of the EMUs is part of the EDI 626 project between Australia’s New South Wales state government and the China CNR Corporation Limited (CNR). The project was initiated in 2006. All the coaches covered by the contract are due to be delivered by 2013.

As the manufacturer of the EMUs, the Changchun Railway Vehicles Company Ltd, a CNR subsidiary, delivered the first set of EMUs in line with the agreed schedule. The company sees the order as something of a breakthrough in terms of international acknowledgment of its high quality technology and a real boost for the “made by CNR” brand in the global market.

The EMUs exported to Australia will be used throughout Sydney, one of the country’s largest cities. They form an integral part of the New South Wales state’s plans for a major upgrade of the city’s public transport network.

Representatives from both parties attended the handover ceremony. In a commemorative speech, Dong Xiaofeng, president of the Changchun Railway Vehicles Company Ltd, expressed his wish for enhanced mutual trust and further cooperation between the two parties.

Guy Wannop, the CEO of EDI, praised CNR’s efforts on the project and said he was “full of confidence” for future cooperation between the two organizations.