Rail equipment manufacturer China CNR Corp Ltd will bring modern trams to China for the first time, the company announced on Wednesday.

Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China CNR, signed a contract with the Italian railway engineering company Ansaldo Breda SPA to jointly introduce modern trams and their ground power supply system to China.

Unlike traditional trams, modern trams need no electric wire netting.

Work on the project has already begun in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, and the first tram will be put into service in October 2013.

A total of 54 modern tramways are planned in various Chinese cities, and 1,200 trains are needed, according to the China CNR.

Urban rail transit, a growing trend in the nation's push to build transportation infrastructure, is a highly competitive field among China's rail equipment manufacturers.

CSR Corp Ltd, China CNR's main rival, is also developing its urban rail transit business, but unlike CNR, which focuses on big cities, CSR seeks expansion through contracts with second- and third-tier cities.