China-made subway trains hit the rails in Turkey

ANKARA - The China-made subway train sets designed for metro transit in west Turkey's port city Izmir have been put into use.

The five-car vehicles began last week to run in Izmir Metro, a 20-kilometer-long tourism line of the city on the Aegean Sea. The metro line serves 17 stations from 6 am to 10 pm every day.

The trains were manufactured by railway vehicle maker CRRC Tangshan, as part of a 19-metro-set deal between the company and Izmir in a bid to upgrade the city's underground traffic system, which is expected to be completed in 2017.

According to CRRC Tangshan, which is based in North China's Hebei province, the new train sets were designed to run at a maximum speed of 80 kmph, with a maximum capacity of 1,286 passengers.

Each train is equipped with six-axis hinge joints that ensure smooth changes of direction, highly advanced technology and the first-ever used in China-supplied subway trains in Europe, the company said.

CRRC Tangshan is capable of making high-speed railway trains that run as fast as 350 kmph.

Before being put into operation, each of the metro trains passed 12 tests in about two months, completing a test run of up to 1,000 km.

Zhou Junnian, general manager of CRRC Tangshan, said the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has generated great opportunities in countries along the routes, adding that his company stands ready to contribute to these nations' infrastructure development with top-quality products and service.