China Railway CRH1

The CRH1 is a family of electric multiple units run by China Railway under its Hexie, or Harmony, brand. The sets were built in Qingdao by Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation, a joint venture between Bombardier Transportation and Sifang, and first carried passengers on 1 February 2007. The family is not one design: the CRH1A and CRH1B descend from the regional Regina platform and were meant for 200 km/h intercity work, while the CRH1E sleeper descends from the Zefiro 250. It shows how China bought foreign train technology in parallel batches, and the sets later worked long overnight routes as well as short regional ones.