China, Georgia: A four-car train destined for Tbilisi has been shown at one of CRRC’s plants in China.
Specialists from the Georgian capital’s metro operator are on site taking part in testing, and will later train drivers on the new stock. This marks CRRC’s first attempt at building rolling stock for 1,520 mm gauge metros in CIS countries (a gauge also found in a number of Eastern European cities).
The train is due in Tbilisi in October or November, with entry into service planned for 2027 on Line 1, the busiest on the network. It comes with ventilation, cooling and air conditioning, and should also cut noise levels underground. Each car is said to hold up to 280 passengers.
GT Group, representing CRRC, signed the contract last summer to supply a fleet of 14 four-car and 11 five-car trains over five years. The deal is worth €150 mln excluding VAT, or €1.35 mln per car. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is financing €125 mln of that through a loan, with the rest covered by the Georgian government and Tbilisi municipality.
The original 2021 tender for 44 cars, worth €49 mln (€1.14 mln per car), went to Russia’s TMH plant in Mytishchi. That contract was terminated in 2023 after the manufacturer was added to the US sanctions list.
CRRC’s metro trains had earlier been expected to debut on the 1,520 mm gauge network in Kharkiv, Ukraine: the manufacturer won a tender there in 2020 for 8 trains (40 cars), but the contract was never carried out.
CRRC is also moving into metro supplies for Tashkent. The Uzbek capital’s metro operator has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the company, aimed at deepening the partnership, sharing expertise and pursuing joint projects. The agreement was signed during an Uzbek delegation’s visit to CRRC’s plant in Dalian.
