[1] After the re-merger, CRRC started expanding overseas; after being awarded a 284 vehicle order (later expanded to 404 vehicles) for metro cars for Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Red and Orange lines with a US$556.6 million bid in October 2014, the company started constructing a 13,900 square metres (150,000 sq ft) assembly plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, at a former Westinghouse plant[14] beginning in September 2015.

[17] Additionally the former CSR had acquired Emprendimientos Ferroviarios in Argentina in 2014 and announced in 2016 that it would begin maintenance and production of new rolling stock for export in the country.

[22] In mid-2015, CRRC formed a freight wagon joint venture, Vertex Railcar, as a minority partner with Hong Kong-based private equity firm Majestic Legend Holdings to establish production in Wilmington, North Carolina at a former Terex facility.

[23] CRRC provided railcar designs and some components, and Majestic Legend invested US$6 million;[24] the plant was operational by the beginning of 2016.

The cost of the contract was US$632 million up to US$1.3 billion with options; as a consequence CRRC began development of a US$40 million assembly factory in Chicago, designed by Itasca, Illinois-based Cornerstone Architects Ltd.[30][31] In March 2017, the subsidiary CRRC MA (based in Quincy, Massachusetts) was awarded a contract by SEPTA to construct 45 bi-level rail cars with the option for 10 additional cars for delivery in October 2019.

[33] CRRC was selected over Hyundai Rotem and Bombardier, which also bid on the bi-level contract and had each produced equipment for SEPTA in the past.

[38] In April 2024, SEPTA terminated their order of bi-level rail cars, citing delays and poor build quality.

CRRC expressed their disappointment at the cancellation, stating “[they] remain committed to completing the project.”[39][40] In June 2016 a predecessor company of CRRC, CSR Corporation Limited, was implicated in allegations of bribery to obtain a 2012 US$6 billion tender to deliver 600 locomotives to the state owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

[43][44] By 2020 it was reported that funds allocated to pay for an adjusted contract to deliver the locomotives produced by CSR Corporation, now reformed into CRRC, had been frozen by the South African Revenue Service due to possible instances of corruption paid to associates of the Gupta family.

In November 2016 the company (via CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive) confirmed plans to buy Škoda Transportation based in the Czech Republic.

On 1 March 2024, CRRC 40% with Grupo Comporte 60% entered at Trens Intercidades Proposal with the possibility to deliver 22 inter-city trains, to be used from Luz Station to Campinas since supposidelly 2030.