BEIJING - China's Ministry of Science and Technology has approved a subsidiary of CSR Corporation Limited (CSR), China's largest rail vehicle maker, to set up an engineering research center for high-speed trains.

The research center of CSR Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co Ltd (Sifang Locomotive), is the first of its kind in China, said a CSR statement Wednesday.

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The research center will provide a platform for high-level research and development, experiments and engineering technology studies for China's high-speed trains, it said.

Sifang Locomotive is the maker of China's CRH-380A train, which set a world record speed of 486.1 kilometers per hour during a test run on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in December last year.

Currently, more than 40 CRH-380A trains made by Sifang Locomotive have been put into operation in China, according to the statement.

CSR was co-founded by China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Group Corporation and Beijing Railway Industry Economic and Trade Company in December 2007.