CRRC: On a roll in the US

Here is a breakdown of the US deals signed by CRRC:

Chicago — On March 24, CRRC Sifang America, a unit of CRRC, broke ground for a $100 million plant that will build railcars for the city's transit authority and become the company's North American hub for the assembly of railcars. In 2016, CRRC Sifang was awarded a $1.3 billion contract by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to supply more than 840 new railcars to replace approximately half of the agency's fleet. The plant will employ around 170 people and create nearly 200 construction jobs. Production will begin in early 2019. After testing, the cars are expected to be delivered by 2020.

Philadelphia — The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) approved the purchase of 45 multilevel coaches on March 23 for $137 million. The deal includes an option for 10 more cars, which, if exercised, would result in the contract's value rising to $161 million. The coaches will be produced primarily at CRRC's plant in Springfield. The first of the coaches are expected to be delivered in late 2019. They will be paired with the transit authority's new electric locomotives, which are being built by Siemens of Germany.

Los Angeles — A $647 million contract for 282 railcars was announced on March 27 and signed on April 19 by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro). The contract will create about 50 jobs, generating up to $38 million in local wages and benefits. About 10 percent of the new jobs will be for disadvantaged workers and workers from lower social economic communities. CRRC will invest in a Los Angeles-based plant to manufacture major components, while the final assembly will be done at the Springfield plant.

CRRC won those contracts by bidding lower than competitors Canada's Bombardier, Germany's Siemens, France's Alstom, and Japan's Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Its $567 million proposal for Boston was 50 percent cheaper than Bombardier's bid. In Philadelphia, CRRC bid $137.5 million, easily beating Bombardier, which bid $171.5 million, and the $187.8 million bid by Hyundai Rotem of South Korea.

In Los Angeles, LA Metro said CRRC "had the highest-rated technical offer and lowest price, while offering the most robust local employment program and highest US component content", adding that CRRC is meeting Washington's "Buy America" provisions, which require 60 percent of components to be made in the US.

For Springfield, the new CRRC plant means "it's back to the future'', said Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno on April 7 at a sendoff at Bradley International Airport for Vancini and her colleagues.