March 16, local time in the United States, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co.Ltd broke ground in Chicago at a $100 million plant. 1.97 million-square-foot railcar manufacturing factory will be sprang up.
It is understood that CRRC Sifang was awarded a $1.3 billion contract by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in March, 2016 to supply more than 840 new railcars. CRRC built the factory locally and achieved 60% “Buy America” requirement.
Chicago has the second largest public transportation system in the United States. Chicago metro has been operating since 1892, with a very long history. Currently, CTA operates 8 lines with 170 km total length, and sends 2.4 million passengers annually. In 2014, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) procured metro vehicles through international bidding to replace old cars on Chicago metro lines, which occupied half of the operating metro cars in Chicago. CRRC Sifang won this contract in success finally.
CRRC Sifang’s general assembly plant, located in the industrial zone at 13535 Torrance Avenue on the south side of Chicago, is responsible for the general assembly of vehicles for the Chicago project. The factory covers an area of 1.97 million-square-foot (275 mu), and the plant area is about 35391m2. The construction of plant will be completed in May, 2018, and the equipment will be installed in October. It’s expected to be put into use in November. After the official operation, the annual manufacturing capacity will be no less than 168 metro cars. The new factory will be the first metro cars manufacturing factory in 36 years. The new rising factory will contribute Chicago to a metro manufacturing base and create at least 169 local jobs.
The metro cars, manufactured by CRRC Sifang in Chicago, are not only American but also have sold Chinese technology. Chicago is at a high latitude (41.8 degrees north), the same latitude as China’s cities of Urumqi and Shenyang, with cold and snowy weather. CRH2G developed by CRRC Sifang, has the capacity to operate on freezing, coldness and high altitude conditions. It has been put into use on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang high-speed railway in northwest China. The cold and high altitude resistance technology will be applied to Chicago metro cars to ensure safe operation and passenger comfort.