CHINA’S largest high-speed rail car maker launched an assembly line in Springfield in the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts on Thursday, which is expected to create hundreds of local jobs.

    China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) will assemble 284 subway cars in Springfield to replace the aging fleets of red and orange lines that connect Cambridge to downtown Boston by 2023. The 16-hectare industrial parcel including a former Westinghouse facility that once housed the world’s first mass-produced auto plant is ready for construction.

    Some 145 kilometers southwest of Boston, Springfield, where the U.S. National Hockey League is headquartered, was a manufacturing hub in New England, but it fell from grace in the 1970s as many companies moved to the south and overseas.

    “This project brings manufacturing back to the community as Springfield has rich history in making things,” Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said at the ground-breaking ceremony.

    Since it is the Massachusetts state that pays for the cars without spending a dime of the federal government, it allows the state to dictate a “make it in Massachusetts” requirement. It will bring 150 manufacturing jobs and 100 construction jobs.

    Tom Loper, a senior staff of Bay Path University in Massachusetts, were digging news about hiring at the ceremony, as he seeks potential positions in the factory for his students.

    “I’m here to know what exactly the manufacturer is looking for so we can make sure that our curriculum is in line with what it needs,” Loper said.

    The Buy American Act requires 60 percent of the parts coming from the United States in government procurement. The contract also requires the CRRC to take care of parts suppliers with minority groups and women employees.

    The deal also ushered in a new chapter for Chinese train makers whose overseas push backed by Premier Li Keqiang has been mostly limited to developing markets.

    “It’s a symbolic deal for the CRRC, since the U.S. market is very hard to break into,” CRRC vice president Yu Weiping said.

    (Xinhua)