WASHINGTON — China’s state-owned rail equipment manufacturer is showing interest in building new rail cars for the Washington Metro system, the Washington Post reports, despite concerns expressed in Congress about cybersecurity and economic issues of such a plan.
CRRC sent 11 employees to a January event for companies interested in bidding on the system’s 8000-series cars, a contract which could be worth more than $1 billion for the building of more than 800 cars. Hyundai Rotem and Alstom have also indicated interest.
Cybersecurity experts have suggested that China could potentially use the equipment to conduct electronic spying in the nation’s capital, and in a statement Sunday, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Metro “needs to share a sense of urgency that I haven’t seen from their response so far.”
