China to export light rail trains to Turkey

BEIJING: Facing major crisis over safety concerns relating to high speed trains, Chinese railway said it will soon be sending the first shipment of domestically produced light rail trains to Turkey, which it hopes will provide an opening to European markets.

The light rail trains manufactured by China's CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co rolled out of the assembly lines this week. They will soon be transported for service to Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city, state-run People's Daily reported today.

Xu Zongxiang, general manager of the company, said the trains were designed according to the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS), an internationally recognised standard for the construction of trains and signalling equipment.

The trains have undergone durability tests and examinations to ensure that they are safe to use, Xu said.

The company sees the Turkish light rail project as its first step into the European market, and it is confident that it will be able to provide high-tech railway technologies and services to other countries and regions, he said.

The Turkish exports brought some cheer for the much maligned Chinese railway sector which suffered a series of setbacks following the July 23 crash of two bullet trains in which 40 people were killed and 200 injured.

Following this, the government ordered the high speed trains to drastically cut down the speeds and recalled 54 of them to address safety issues relating to their emergency braking systems.