CRRC Corporation confirmed in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on November 28 that its CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive subsidiary has entered negotiations regarding the potential acquisition of a 100% stake in Škoda Transportation.

CHINA’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) gave the go-ahead on November 18 for a Yuan 247bn ($US 36bn) project to improve rail links between Beijing and surrounding towns and cities.

THE first Silkworm low-floor LRV for the initial phase of the light rail network in the Songiang district of Shanghai was delivered on November 21 in readiness for the start of testing on Line T2.

THE first train for the inaugural metro line in the Chinese city of Urumqi was unveiled at CRRC Corporation’s plant in Zhuzhou on November 1.

ALSTOM has won a €31m contract to supply traction and train control monitoring systems (TCMS) for 156 metro cars for Shanghai Metro Line 10 phase 2, which is expected to open in 2018.

CHINA’s top economic planner the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved plans for five more new lines representing a total investment of Yuan 187bn ($US 27.3bn) as the government seeks to revive flagging economic growth through infrastructure spending.

CHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) has begun testing piggyback wagons built by CRRC Qiqihar Rolling Stock as part of a joint initiative to evaluate the possibility of transporting of articulated lorries and semitrailers on the Chinese rail network.

CHINA Railway Corporation (CRC) announced on November 7 that China’s rail freight volume rose for a third successive month in October, to a 21-month high.

TRIAL passenger operation began on two new metro lines in Shenzhen on October 28, adding 55.6km to the network, which at 285km is now the third largest metro in China after Beijing and Shanghai.

THE first metro train for the Chinese city of Xiamen was unveiled at a ceremony at CRRC’s Tangshan plant on October 22.