The safety woes are just another reason why Chinese SOEs shouldn’t build U.S. transit.
Back on March 3, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced that it had pulled all of its new Orange Line trains from service because of safety issues.
At the time, officials downplayed the risks, and insisted that the rail cars would be up and running by the end of the week. But now MBTA says that an inspection revealed a problem with the trains’ bolsters, which means the trains will be out of service indefinitely.
It’s the latest safety setback for the rail cars, which were built by the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation, better known as CRRC. In fact, this is the third time since the rail cars made their debut in August that these Orange Line trains have been temporarily taken out of service because of manufacturing defects.
There is currently no set timetable on when the cars will be back in service.
While the safety incident is making headlines, there continue to be significant economic and national security concerns about giving taxpayer money to Chinese state-owned or state-controlled companies (SOEs) like CRRC and automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) to build public transit like rail cars and buses.
On Thursday, AAM President Scott Paul testified before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on these threats, noting that companies like CRRC and BYD are heavily subsidized by China’s government, allowing them to severely underbid free market competitors for government contracts.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t costs. Paul said at the hearing:
“Left unchecked, the toll on U.S. supply chains will be devastating. Because CRRC and BYD’s U.S. assembly operations are a supply line for major rolling stock components produced in China, the jobs of American workers throughout our domestic supply chains are now at risk. CRRC’s train shells are made with Chinese metals, and assembled with substantial Chinese parts in their stateside operations. Meanwhile, a city official familiar with BYD’s assembly operations remarked that “the majority, if not all, parts were manufactured in China and shipped to the United States…”
Thankfully, there is recognition on Capitol Hill that there is a problem. Lawmakers have warned that deals with Chinese SOEs to continue manufacturing American buses and rail cars “could compromise the security of transportation system data.”
Last year, Congress passed a version of the bipartisan Transportation Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act (TIVSA) as part of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. But the new law also includes a two-year implementation delay, and there’s now evidence that CRRC – already is in the process of building rail cars for big cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia – is looking to weaken TIVSA even further.
There was unanimous agreement among Members during last week’s hearing – a rarity on Capitol Hill – that more work needed to be done.
If we continue to allow Chinese SOEs to manufacture buses and rail cars for public transit systems, our infrastructure and national security will continue to be at risk (let alone our general safety, as the issues in Boston show).
Congress and the Trump administration must work diligently to ensure TIVSA is properly implemented as intended, and along with shoring up our own manufacturing capabilities through strengthened Buy America provisions and infrastructure investment.
“China’s assault on our public transportation infrastructure is not likely to subside and the manufacturing capabilities that underpin America’s public transportation remain at risk,” Paul testified. “It is necessary for Congress to remain vigilant about the threat that China’s state-owned and state-supported firms continue to pose to American jobs, supply chains and national security.”