Workers inspect the first articulated light rail train customized by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. for Mexico City, in Zhuzhou, central China's Hunan Province, Sept. 9, 2023. The first articulated light rail train customized by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. for Mexico City has rolled off the assembly line on Saturday. (Xinhua/Chen Zeguo)

Metro Line 1 in Mexico City, renovated by a Chinese company, officially restarted operation on Sunday local time. Refurbishment work has helped modernize the line, which has been in operation for half a century, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Monday.

This is also the first time that a rubber wheel metro project developed by a Chinese company has been put into operation overseas. Rubber wheels can reduce the noise generated during operation as well as energy consumption, while adapting to the local terrain conditions, CMG said.

With the development of the project, travel and waiting times, as well as train failures, are expected to decrease sharply. The transport capacity will increase by 35 percent while energy use will fall by 35 percent, according to a UN report on 2023 Public-Private Partnerships released in April.

The renovation task, carried out by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co, (CRRC ZELC), is the company's first overseas "system +" project, involving investment and financing, new vehicle manufacturing, as well as comprehensive modernization and upgrading of existing car communication signal systems, electromechanical systems, and whole system maintenance, with a service period of up to 19 years.

The cars for the line, independently developed by Chinese enterprises, have adopted a 9-knot formation with a maximum operating speed of 80 kilometers per hour, with a passenger capacity of up to 2,252 people.

The Mexico City Metro Line 1 began operation in 1969, with a total length of 18.83 kilometers and 20 stations. The line is the most important metro line in Mexico, with 243 million passengers per year, plus 140 million transfer passengers, according to UN statistics.

"The Mexico City Metro Line 1 renovation project is an important livelihood project in the Mexican capital, and its successful operation marks a new milestone on the road of China-Mexico friendship," said Chinese Ambassador to Mexico Zhang Run on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the line.

According to the UN PPP case study, the completion of the project will generate a total of 2,715 jobs, while for the service stage another 615 jobs will be generated.

Before the completion of the refurbishment, CRRC ZELC had already provided jobs for local people.

Mexican Rail Transit Equipment Co, CRRC ZELC's Mexico branch, on Wednesday held a ceremony for the first anniversary of the operation of the Queretaro Plant in the north of Mexico City, which was built for localized manufacturing of metro trains. The ceremony also noted the company's school-enterprise cooperation in talent training.

The company has developed more than 100 local suppliers with cumulative purchases of about 250 million pesos ($13.9 million). The company has created nearly 300 local jobs and promoted the employment of local residents, said CRRC ZELC.

Over the past year, the Queretaro plant has achieved a production capacity of 15 carriages per month. It has so far delivered 135 cars for 15 trains for Line 1 of the Mexico City Metro.