LOVELAND - Loveland's DataTraks is expanding following a large order of its railroad products made by the Chinese government, the company said Thursday.

China bought 82 rail systems from DataTraks recently. The SafeTrak systems are used to prevent temperature-related track buckling on rail lines.

The partnership will increase the safety of China's rail lines and means a "significant" expansion for DataTraks, the company said.

Most of the new systems will be installed in passenger and general freight rail lines in the Shanxi province. A dozen of the systems will be used in Beijing and the rest will be installed in Shanghai lines.

Welded rail lines may expand as the sun continuously heats them. Tracks along long stretches of rail lines can buckle sideways during this expansion, leading to costly derailments.

SafeTrak systems detect changes in temperature on continuously welded rail lines so that rail crews can address problem areas before they become hazardous.