Chinese subway trains in service for Rio Olympics

Workers of China CNR Corporation Ltd. assemble a train for the Rio Olympic Games in Changchun, in this Dec 8 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

RIO DE JANEIRO - The first train to run on Line 4 of the Rio de Janeiro metro connecting the Olympic Village to the Copacabana Game Center has been delivered three months after shipment from China.

China CNR Corporation Ltd., the manufacturer of the train, confirmed that the train especially designed for the 2016 Olympic Games was unloaded in the Olympic host city on Jan 28, and is expected to be put into operation on Rio's transportation network in late March or early April.

As one of China's biggest train makers, CNR started market survey in Latin American in 2004.

In 2009, the Rio government signed contracts with the CNR for purchase of China-made vehicles in a bid to improve its rail network as the city was chosen to host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Over the past six years, the CNR has secured orders for 100 electric multiple units (EMU), a type of intercity high-speed train, and 34 subway trains for Rio. These vehicles will make up 82 percent of the urban mass transit in the city.

During last year's World Cup, subway trains developed by the CNR were put into use to help ferry the public and the football fans between Rio's central station and the Maracana Stadium.

The subway trains manufactured by the CNR will continue to play an essential role in transportation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, as they will be used on the city's Line 4 -- a key infrastructure project that connects the Olympic Village and the Copacabana center in Rio, the CNR has announced.

This metro line, which is still under construction, is scheduled to go into operation in time for the 2016 Olympic Games, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro on August 5-21.

Its six new stations will integrate with the existing subway Lines 1 and 2, shortening the travel time from Barra to Ipanema to just 15 minutes, and from Barra to the city center to just 34 minutes.

The completion of Line 4 ahead of the Olympic Games is an Olympic promise by the State of Rio de Janeiro to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

It will be the first time for a Chinese train maker to provide transportation service outside China for the Olympic Games. Based on the situation in Rio, the CNR offers more cost efficient solutions with more advanced technology, according to the CNR.

Comprising six carriages, the newly-arrived subway train capable of carrying 2,240 people can run at a maximum speed of 100 km per hour. The train is also equipped with an overspeed protection device that will automatically sound alert and help to slow down the train, once the speed reaches the limit.

The subway train is made of A-type stainless steel and boasts a far more compressive load than that of an ordinary train, which means it can ensure passengers' safety in the case of a head-on collision with an 80-ton truck running at a speed of 36 km per hour.

To withstand the heat in Brazil, the subway train is also equipped with an air-conditioning unit that has a refrigerating capacity of 50 kilowatts, which will allow the train to operate in temperatures as high as 56 degrees Celsius.

Founded following a reorganization of the China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Group in June 2008, the CNR now has its products used in more than 40 countries and regions around the world.