CNR MA Making Strides Page Boulevard Official Site of Rail Car Assembly Facility

Springfield, Ma – Tuesday, April 14, 2015 CNR MA today officially announced the corporation’s purchase of a 40 acre industrial parcel located on Page Boulevard, the former Westinghouse manufacturing center that once also housed the Stevens-Duryea automobile plant, the first mass produced auto plant in the US.  This acquisition marks a significant milestone for CNR MA and Carbuilder Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., as they continue with plans to build a rail car manufacturing facility in Springfield.

With the Page Boulevard site leveled, cleared, and ready for construction, CNR MA’s plans are to construct a first phase 200,000 SF rail car assembly facility, and 2,240 linear foot test track.  In addition, the plant will house Engineering, Research and Development, and Administrative offices.  Estimated cost of phase one construction is $60,000,000.

“This is a significant milestone in our path towards building a manufacturing facility in Springfield,” said CNR MA President Lu Xiwei.  “We look forward to working cooperatively with the City of Springfield as we design and build a facility that will have an enormous impact on the economic vitality of Western Massachusetts.”

CNR MA, a Massachusetts corporation that is a joint venture of China CNR Corporation and CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., was recently awarded a $566m contract from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to design and manufacture 284 Orange and Red Line vehicles. The contract includes the purchase of 152 new Orange Line vehicles and 132 new Red Line vehicles.  The contract also includes Capital Spare Parts, CCTV Operator Display Screens, Gap Mitigation Devices, LCD Monitors, Automatic Passenger Counting Systems, and two Training Simulators.

Construction will start in spring of 2016 with completion scheduled for fall of 2017. Full rail car production at the new plant will begin in spring of 2018 with the first production cars completed in January, 2019.

CNR CRC was established in 1954 and is a leading professional rolling stock manufacturer having completed projects in over 13 countries and regions producing high speed trains, mass transit vehicles and passenger coaches. CNR CRC has accumulatively manufactured over 30 thousand various railway vehicles (including more than 3,600 stainless steel EMUs). The products of CNR CRC have been exported to Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, New Zealand and Hong Kong, etc.  CNR CRC’s global success with vehicle manufacturing has enhanced their engineering and management experiences in line with international practices and standards. CNC CRC has made great strides in the development of high-speed railway transportation in recent years. By 2012, four years after the nation began its first high-speed passenger service, the country’s high-speed rail track will reach 16,000 kilometers (km), longer than the combined distance laid in the rest of the world.