GENERAL Electric Co. (GE) and CSR Corp., China s largest maker of rail vehicles, plan to invest US$50 million in their U.S.-based venture to supply passenger trains for high-speed lines in California and Florida.
The initiative could sustain or create 250 jobs by 2012, potentially at GE Transportation factories in Erie and Grove City, Pennsylvania, the company said yesterday.
The partners would also form a business to work on medium-speed trains and on urban rail-transit systems, GE said in a statement.
We are committed to advancing the global high-speed rail technology market, said vice chairman John Rice.
The rail venture supports chief executive officer Jeffrey Immelt s goal of investing more than US$1.5 billion in joint ventures in key high-technology sectors with China, adding US$500 million to GE s research centers in the country and boosting U.S. manufacturing.
The GE-CSR alliance could face competition from trainmakers including Bombardier Inc., Alstom SA and East Japan Railway Co.
Alstom signed a long-term cooperation agreement yesterday with China s railway ministry to develop infrastructure on a wide spectrum with unidentified Chinese partners including rolling stock, high-speed trains, locomotives and signaling.
Bombardier and the ministry agreed Tuesday to develop train cars and signals for use inside and outside China. The accord establishes China Railway Signal and Communication Corp. as a strategic partner for Bombardier signal systems, according to an e-mailed statement from the Montreal-based trainmaker. (SD-Agencies)
