Schumer Fears Chinese Company’s Designs for MTA May Be Nat’l Security Threat

Senator Chuck Schumer is asking the federal government to investigate whether a Chinese state-owned company’s proposal to design new subway cars for the MTA could be a national security risk.

As reported by the NY Post, on Sunday, Schumer asked for a “bottom to top review” as he pointed to the tariff war ongoing between the U.S. and China, and to the criminal charges filed last week by the Trump administration against Chinese firm, Huawei, for stealing US technology. The NY Democrat said due diligence will be necessary before allowing the Chinese company to do work for the MTA. The company is pursuing a $4 billion contract with the MTA.

In March 2018, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. (CRRC), the largest train car producer in the world, won the MTA Genius Transit Challenge and proposed investing $50 million of its own money to design a new subway car using lighter materials and “modern train control technology.” Now, as part of its plan, CRRC wants to move forward installing new technology in our subway system.

“Given what we know about how cyberwarfare works, and recent attacks that have hit transportation and infrastructure hubs across the country, the Department of Commerce must give the green light and thoroughly check any proposals or work China’s CRRC does on behalf of the New York subway system, including our signals, Wi-Fi and more,” said Schumer said in a statement.

MTA Chief External Affairs Office Max Young voiced his approval in a statement. “The MTA has robust, multilayered and vigorously enforced safety and security standards, but we support efforts of government agencies to bolster that work,” said Young.

While CRRC does not yet have a contract with the MTA and has not started any work, the company already has won contracts with transportation systems in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. The rail tech company tends to underbid other competitors, thanks to the heavy subsidies it gets from the Chinese government. CRRC is now also in talks with Washington’s Metro system, seeking a $500 million contract for train cars.

“This kind of national security responsibility is just so big, and so complex, that the MTA and other big-city transit systems should not have to foot the burden of going it alone to assess whether or not CRRC’s low bids for work, and current contracts across the country, are part of some larger strategy,” Schumer said. “We just cannot be too careful here, especially now, amidst these tensions.”