Trains made in China will run on the Beijing light railway, said managing personnel with the Beijing Subway Train Factory January 20.

The factory, together with the Changchun Passenger Train Factory and Japan's Toyo machinery company, recently won the bidding to manufacture the trains for the Beijing light railway system.

The trains jointly manufactured by the three parties have been running in good condition on the subway line along the Chang'an Avenue, which was put into test operation on September 28, 1999.

Economists say that over 200 trains will be needed when Beijing's light railway becomes operational in 2005, and Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Nanjing will need around 3,000 metro trains within ten years for their new subway lines.

World-known enterprises including ABB, Toyo, Mitsubishi, and Hyun Dai have shown strong interest in the Chinese subway train market.

All the subway trains in use now in the cities of Shanghai and Guangzhou were manufactured by foreign companies.