Two China-developed subway trains on Thursday left north China’s Tianjin for Portugal’s Porto, marking the country’s first metro project to be exported to a European Union country. Each train has a maximum passenger capacity of 334 people and a maximum speed of 80 km per hour.
Founded in 1881, CRRC Tangshan is a Chinese company with a long tradition of producing trains, high-speed trains and metro vehicles. It is the world’s largest railway rolling stock manufacturer, headquartered in Beijing and employing more than 180,000 workers.
The Chinese company received authorization to start manufacturing in October 2020.
At the time, an official Metro do Porto source told he believed CRRC Tangshan could deliver at least one or two units by the end of 2021, with the remaining trainsets delivered by 2023, at the rate of one a month.
Now, autumn 2022, is already done !
The trains will serve the new Rosa line, in Porto, between São Bento and Casa da Música, and the extension of the Yellow line, between Santo Ovídio and Vila d’Este, in Vila Nova de Gaia, both of which are under construction.
These new lines will add 6 kilometers and seven stations to the network, representing a global investment of around €300 million.
Metro do Porto operates in seven municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Porto with a network of six lines, 67 kilometers and 82 stations.
The Chinese company is currently in the running for the tender regarding 117 railcars for CP – Comboios de Portugal’s regional and suburban services.
CRRC Tangshan was also, in partnership with France’s Thales, one of the losing bidders in the contract for 42 carriages and a new rail signaling system for Metropolitano de Lisboa, awarded in 2020.
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