Tangshan, Hebei province-based CRRC Tangshan Co loaded 15 railway train coaches onto ships at Tianjin Port on Thursday for export to Chittagong, Bangladesh.

They are the first batch of broad-gauge coaches to be exported to Bangladesh from China, CRRC Tangshan, which designed and manufactured the coaches, said.

"The coaches will further deepen the two countries' exchanges in rail transit and help improve the railway service in Bangladesh," said Chen Bu, director of the export project at CRRC Tangshan.

The 15 coaches, with a designed speed of 120 kilometers per hour, are expected to be used in 2023 over the Padma Bridge Rail Link Project that passes across the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh, Chen said.

The 172-km link is one of the most significant projects under construction by China Railway Group Ltd, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The line that connects the country's capital Dhaka and Jessore is said to be important as it is tipped to link Myanmar and India in the future, Chen said.

Some 100 coaches had been produced for the project in Tangshan by September and the rest will be delivered as and when needed.

Chen said the coaches have been customized for Bangladesh, and have new structures and boast new technology.

Considering the environment and train operation needs of Bangladesh, the coaches were mainly made with ferritic stainless steel and equipped with window-shades for sufficient ventilation, he said.

"They consume less power, need easier maintenance work and provide more comfortable experience for local passengers," Chen said.

Trains made by the company have also been exported to many other countries, including Pakistan, Portugal and Canada.

Earlier this month, 46 broad-gauge coaches, with a designed speed of 160 km per hour, were exported to Pakistan.

CRRC Tangshan said it will also transfer related technologies to Pakistan for updating its coach production line. As of this month, 25 Pakistanis have been trained in related technologies, the group said.