The MBTA has contracted with Springfield-based CRRC to design and manufacture a fleet replacement encompassing 152 new Orange Line vehicles and 252 new Red Line vehicles. MBTA photo

The Senate’s top Democrat is calling on the federal government to step in and investigate whether a plan for new subway cars in New York City designed by a Chinese state-owned company could pose a threat to national security. The firm won the contract to produce the MBTA’s new fleets of Orange and Red Line cars, the former due to be delivered starting later this year.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said in a statement to The Associated Press on Sunday that he’s asked the Commerce Department to conduct a “top-to-bottom review” after CRRC, one of the world’s largest train makers, won a design contest for new subway cars that would include “modern train control technology.”

The company hasn’t won a contract in New York City, which has America’s biggest transit system, but it has been awarded contracts in recent years for new subway cars in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia as well as in Boston.

China has pushed to dominate the U.S. rail car market, a multibillion-dollar industry. CRRC is also believed to be pursuing a $500 million contract with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C.

Security experts and members of Congress have raised the alarm about CRRC because it is owned by the Chinese government, warning of prior cyberthreats and hacking attacks linked to Chinese intelligence officials. They fear allowing the company to install technology in America’s rail system could potentially expose it to cyberespionage and sabotage.

Schumer’s call for an investigation comes amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China after trade talks between the two nations broke up earlier this month without an agreement. Days ago, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declare a national economic emergency that empowered the government to ban American telecommunication companies from installing foreign-made equipment and technology that could pose a threat to national security.

A spokesman for CRRC Sifang America — the company’s arm in Chicago — said a majority of the components used in its new rail cars come from U.S. companies and said concerns about spying or malware are misplaced. The rail cars meet specific requirements set by the transit agencies, the manufacturer doesn’t control the cyber components it installs and it is “not possible” for the company to implant malware in the system, he said.

Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate that, if passed, would prevent federal funds from being used for rail projects involving Chinese companies.

“Given what we know about how cyberwarfare works, and recent attacks that have hit transportation and infrastructure hubs across the country, the Department of Commerce must give the green light and thoroughly check any proposals or work China’s CRRC does on behalf of the New York subway system, including our signals, Wi-Fi and more,” Schumer said the statement to AP.