QINGDAO -- CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co, a major manufacturer of railway cars in China, will provide maintenance services for Argentina's 709 intercity train carriages, the company announced Thursday.

CRRC Sifang signed an online agreement with Argentina's state-owned rail company, Sociedad Operadora Ferroviaria Sociedad del Estado (SOFSE), on the cooperation of maintenance services Wednesday, said corporate sources.

CRRC Sifang will provide the maintenance plans, technological support, and related parts, and SOFSE will carry out the maintenance, according to the agreement.

As international travel is restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CRRC Sifang will provide maintenance services online to SOFSE in the interim.

Argentina's Ministry of Transport purchased a total of 709 intercity train carriages made by CRRC in two orders to upgrade the public transportation system in Buenos Aires in 2013.

The CRRC train carriages operate on its three intercity lines -- the Roca, Sarmiento, and Mitre lines.

There are more than 20 satellite cities around the main city, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, which are mainly interconnected by urban railway lines.