The first batch of brand new subway cars by a Chinese company were completed at the assembly line in Springfield, Massachusetts and delivered on December 18 to Boston. They will gradually replace the nearly 40-year-old cars presently serving Boston lines.

The assembly plant China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Dec. 18, 2018. (Photos: chinanews.com)

These new cars are part of a contract between Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC). The MBTA ordered 152 Orange Line subways cars and 252 Red Line subway cars to replace the current ones. CRRC built a 204,000-square-foot assembly plant in Springfield and hired nearly 220 employees. It is CRRC's first American rail car manufacturing facility.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority ordered 152 Orange Line subways cars and 252 Red Line subway cars.

CRRC Vice President Jia Bo, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, secretary of Massachusetts Transportation Department Stephanie Pollack, and Chinese Consulate General in New York Huang Ping attended the ceremony and offered congratulations for the completion of the project.

Workers at the Springfield plant China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation polish subway cars.

This new batch of subway cars are made of stainless steel and are expected to work for 30 years. The average speed of the cars is 63 miles per hour (102km per hour). The secretary said once the cars are all delivered, passengers of the Orange Line will be able to have trains come every four-and-a-half minutes during rush-hour instead of every six or seven minutes currently, which will increase the number of commuters the line can carry in one hour by about 40 percent.

New features of the cars include gap mitigation devices, additional passenger emergency intercoms, wider side door openings, automatic passenger counters and closed circuit cameras.