City Subway Construction Decelerates in China

The signed contract in hand should have imbued the urban rail equipment manufacturer's executive with confidence.

Instead, the formal Shanghai Shentong Metro Group contract was a cause for disappointment: The document was worth no more than the paper itself.

Soon after awarding the contract in December, the city subway operator indefinitely delayed the equipment purchase and shelved plans to expand the underground's rolling stock by seven trains in 2012.