Massachusetts’ New Chinese-Made Subway Cars Fail Again

Massachusetts’ new Orange Line cars made by one of China’s largest train makers have again been removed from service, this time because of a brake issue.

According to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), a new Orange Line train experienced a mechanical problem in one of the train’s “multiple braking units” on May 19. The incident happened at Wellington Station during the morning commute, when one of the brakes on a train went offline. No one was hurt.

“While we work to determine the exact cause of the failure, we are proactively removing all new Orange Line trains from service out of an abundance of caution,” MBTA said on Twitter.

Older trains will remain in service. MBTA said Orange Line riders should expect longer wait times and allow extra time for travel.

MBTA’s new Red and Orange Line cars are assembled in Springfield from car sells made in China by the Chinese state-owned company CRRC. Some train components are made locally. The new trains have failed at least five times since their debut in 2019…. (Excerpt from Epoch Times)