The Rail Security Alliance (RSA) has issued a statement applauding the Board of Directors of Metra, the Chicago area commuter rail system, for its decision to award its contract for 500 new passenger railcars to Alstom Transportation. Alstom manufactures and uses suppliers in the U.S. including several in Metra’s home state of Illinois.
RSA says that by rejecting an anti-competitive bid from Chinese state-owned manufacturer CRRC, Metra will help keep family-wage railcar manufacturing and rail supply jobs in the U.S.
The statement continued: “Independent research confirms that state-owned enterprises like CRRC take jobs away from American workers and threaten U.S. national security due to the close ties companies like CRRC have to the Chinese Communist Party and its military.”