▶ The metro has become an important means of transportation for Zhengzhou citizens, and in the future, you may have the chance to ride a Zhengzhou-made metro. On December 21, the first "Zhengzhou-made" metro train rolled off the assembly line in Xingyang, marking the realization of "Zhengzhou manufacturing" for Henan vehicles.

  First "Zhengzhou-made" metro rolls off assembly line in Xingyang

  On the morning of December 21, the rollout ceremony of the first "Zhengzhou-made" metro train and the Zhengzhou Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading On-site Meeting were held in Xingyang. On that day, the first "Zhengzhou-made" metro train completed final assembly and officially rolled off the line. This also signifies that future rail transit vehicles will achieve "Henan vehicles, Zhengzhou-made; Zhengzhou vehicles, Xingyang-made."

  That day, in the final assembly workshop of Zhengzhou CRRC Rail Transit Equipment Co., Ltd. in Xingyang, reporters saw logistics vehicles transporting various parts and materials shuttling alongside the assembly line, train bodies either suspended in mid-air or parked on the production line, and workers busy in their work areas.

  On one side of the workshop, the first "Zhengzhou-made" metro train, decorated with red ribbons and ready for departure, became the focus of attention.

  "This train is part of the additional purchase project of 17 vehicles for Zhengzhou Metro Line 1, which was won on November 18, 2015, with a total contract value of 619 million yuan. With the first train rolling off the line, the remaining 16 trains will also be assembled and completed successively," said a responsible person from Zhengzhou CRRC. The additional purchase of trains for Zhengzhou Metro Line 1 totals 17 trains and 102 vehicles. Before rolling off the line, the trains undergo many steps including body manufacturing, final assembly, static debugging, dynamic debugging, and comprehensive joint debugging before operation. Only after fully meeting standards can they be put into passenger service. "Currently, all work is progressing smoothly, and the first train officially rolled off the line this morning."

  "Zhengzhou-made" metro to operate as early as next month

  Reporters learned that compared with the metro trains currently operating on Zhengzhou Metro Line 1, the newly rolled-off "Zhengzhou-made" metro trains have optimized performance in all aspects, using a more advanced bogie system, further enhancing the safety and quality of the trains. At the same time, the interior of the carriages is more user-friendly and refined, and riding comfort has been greatly improved.

  The head of Zhengzhou CRRC Rail Transit Equipment Co., Ltd. stated that these "Zhengzhou-made" metro trains are expected to be put into operation next month.

  It is reported that as one of the ten key areas explicitly promoted for breakthrough development in "Made in China 2025," the advanced rail transit equipment manufacturing industry is one of the industries in China's high-end equipment manufacturing sector with the highest degree of independent innovation, the strongest international innovation competitiveness, and the most obvious industrial driving effect.

  To jointly drive the development of the rail transit passenger transport mobile equipment industry in the Central Plains Economic Zone, according to the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement" signed by the Henan Provincial and Zhengzhou Municipal Governments respectively with the former China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation, on June 6, 2014, Xingyang City Urban Investment and Development Co., Ltd., together with Zhengzhou Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., Henan Mingtai Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., and CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd., jointly invested to establish Zhengzhou CRRC Rail Transit Equipment Co., Ltd. in Xingyang. With comprehensive technical support from Sifang Co., Ltd., a core enterprise of CRRC, it produces the CRH6F intercity EMU, the only model that has obtained the manufacturing license from China Railway Corporation.

  In July 2014, Zhengzhou CRRC Rail Transit Equipment Co., Ltd. invested 1.8 billion yuan to build the Central Plains Economic Zone Rail Transit Equipment Manufacturing and Repair Base in Xingyang.

  In October this year, the first phase of the Central Plains Economic Zone Rail Transit Equipment Manufacturing and Repair Base was completed and put into production.

  High-speed EMUs to be maintained here in the future

  "Currently, our province's production capacity is 300 metro trains per year, and it also has an annual production capacity for maintaining 400 high-speed EMUs," said the aforementioned head of Zhengzhou CRRC Rail Transit Equipment Co., Ltd. As the Central Plains Economic Zone Rail Transit Equipment Manufacturing and Repair Base, it also undertakes maintenance tasks for high-speed trains and urban rail transit. "In the near future, high-speed EMUs will also be maintained here in batches."

  Since then, Xingyang has become the only county-level city in Henan Province with EMU manufacturing and maintenance enterprises. Reporters learned that with Zhengzhou CRRC as the industry leader, Xingyang is also actively driving the downstream industry chain, encouraging related enterprises to invest in and build supporting bases around the CRRC Zhengzhou base. Currently, Henan Mingtai Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., Zhongyuan Lida Railway Track Technology Development Co., Ltd., and the Rail Transit Equipment Manufacturing and Repair Base Supporting Industrial Park have been introduced, with a total investment of 1.92 billion yuan.

  At present, the local procurement rate of parts for "Zhengzhou-made" metro trains has reached 35%. According to the plan, in the future, the local procurement rate of parts for Zhengzhou metro train manufacturing is expected to reach 80%.

  Building a 100-billion-yuan rail transit industry cluster

  Reporters learned that the rail transit equipment manufacturing and repair base invested by Zhengzhou CRRC in Zhengzhou has a total investment of about 1.8 billion yuan and is being built in three phases. After all phases are completed, it will reach an annual production capacity of 500 newly built vehicles and 2,000 maintained vehicles. By then, it will drive an annual output value of about 20 billion yuan in related industries.

  Cheng Zhiming, Deputy Secretary of the Zhengzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, stated that the rail transit equipment manufacturing industry is a key area of equipment manufacturing among the seven major leading industries identified by Zhengzhou. Next, Zhengzhou will continue to increase investment, with the goal of building a 100-billion-yuan rail transit industry cluster.

  The industrial chain involved in rail transit construction is relatively large. What is still missing in the full industrial chain layout of Zhengzhou's rail transit industry?

  "As for the upstream, the shield tunneling machines used in Zhengzhou metro construction are 'Zhengzhou-made.'" "Zhengzhou-made" shield tunneling machines not only serve Zhengzhou but also serve multiple metro constructions at home and abroad. The composite earth pressure balance shield tunneling machines produced by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group are not only used in Chengdu and Shenzhen metro construction but are also exported to Malaysia and India for local metro projects.

  The analyst believes that with the rollout of the "Zhengzhou-made" metro, the midstream industrial chain of Zhengzhou's rail transit industry will be further improved. With the building of Zhengzhou's rail transit industry cluster, the full industrial chain layout of Zhengzhou's rail transit industry is about to take initial shape.