China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the world's biggest train maker by revenue, announced it won a 1.3-billion-U.S. dollar order to build rail cars for Chicago on Thursday.

A CRH train production site of CRRC's Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd in Qingdao, Shandong province. CSR Sifang America JV, subsidiary of CRRC which makes both high speed trains and railcars, will supply up to 846 railcars to the Chicago Transit Authority. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) awarded the contract to build 846 railcars to CRRC subsidiary CSR Sifang America JV, which submitted the lowest bid, according to a statment posted on the CTA's website.

As part of its wining bid, CRRC will build a new rail car assembly facility in Chicago -- the first of its kind in 35 years, with an aim to see the first cars going into service in 2020.

Brian Steele, a CTA spokesman, said the contract is expected to create around 169 new jobs, including mechanical engineers and electricians.

Chicago boasts the second biggest public transport system in the United States, operating eight subway lines with a total length of 170 km. The 846 new rail cars will replace the old ones currently used in Chicago.

CRRC, formed from the merger of former rivals CNR Corp. and China CSR, has been actively bidding for contracts in overseas markets in recent years and exported its rail transportation equipment to 101 countries and regions.