Construction of China's biggest manufacturing base for high-speed trains is to be completed in the northeastern Jilin Province in June next year, local sources confirmed on Wednesday.

It will also become China's biggest research and development center, according to Han Fengwu, deputy general manager of the Changchun Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd (CRC).

The base, which cost 2.5 billion yuan (about US$0.36 billion), is capable of producing 500 cars for ordinary passenger trains, 800 cars for high-speed trains which run at a speed above 350 kilometers per hour and 800 cars for inter-city express trains above 120 kilometers per hour.

Construction on the base began last May.

CRC, a share-holding enterprise registered in March 2002, produced China's first underground train, magnetic levitation train and high-speed train.

The Ministry of Railways launched a major overhaul of the rail system on April 1, the seventh since 1997, featuring faster trips and more seats.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2009)