WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chinese rail equipment manufacturer CRRC plans to bid on a contract for new equipment for the DC Metro rail system despite opposition from U.S. lawmakers, Reuters reports.
A spokesman for the company’s subsidiary, CRRC Sifang, which manufactures railcars in Chicago, told the news service that it would bid for the Washington contract, which could be worth up to $1 billion.
Such a bid would have to overcome opposition including proposed U.S. Senate legislation that would prohibit DC Metro from entering into contracts with firms based in China or other countries that require companies to cooperate with their home nation’s intelligence or other governmental agencies. [See “DC Metro funding bill would block purchase of Chinese equipment,” Trains News Wire, April 15, 2019.] Another bill would seek to block use of federal funds for any Chinese-manufactured transit equipment; a similar bill was introduced last year but failed to pass.
The bills reflects concerns that CRRC can underbid other manufacturers because of state subsidies, as well as cybersecurity concerns. The Reuters report says a lobbying group, the Rail Security Alliance, has helped draft the legislation. The group is made up of freight equipment manufacturers, supplies, and steel workers who oppose CRRC’s efforts to enter the U.S. market, Reuters says, out of concerns the Chinese company will enter the U.S. freight railcar market.
CRRC, meanwhile, is engaged in an effort to ease the cybersecurity concerns. “We want to take this time to say, “Hey, we are willing to sit around the table with you, we want to demonstrate…there are no vulnerabilities in what we provide you,” Lydia Rivera, a spokeswoman for CRRC’s Massachusetts unit, told Reuters.
