The “research center for efficient heavy-haul railway transportation technology,” a project submitted by Shuohuang Railway, has been recognized as a base for technological innovation in the railway sector by China’s National Railway Administration. The result was announced after more than five months’ review and evaluation.
Shuohuang Railway has been paying high attention to technological innovation. With the purpose of ensuring safe operation and improving transportation efficiency and economic returns, the company has been scaling up input in technology research and development (R&D), accelerating its pace in going intelligent and taking active moves to build itself into a source of innovation in heavy-haul railway technology amid efforts to provide strong support for the company to emerge as a world leading transportation service provider. Shuohuang Railway has been improving its core competitiveness with high-level technological innovation. The company makes intelligent railway as its target of input in technology R&D. In pursuing the target, it set up a leading group and a task force, devised an implementation plan, a timetable and a roadmap, and mobilized resources across the company to promote technological innovation. It has carried out a raft of major research projects, including those on wheel-rail interaction, wireless reconnection synchronous control, safety of heavy-haul train and heavy-haul coal transporting railway with the axle load exceeding 30 tonnes. It conducted a series of major projects for technological breakthrough and demonstration, and has achieved a great amount of high-level research achievements. The company successfully launched China’s first 20,000-tonne heavy-haul train equipped with TD-LTE broadband mobile communications system, signaling that it has mastered the set of core technologies for running 20,000-tonne heavy-haul trains. The railway company developed automated coal hopper cars with an axle load of 30 tonnes and a carrying capacity of 100 tonnes, put into use their first comprehensive inspection vehicles for heavy-haul railway, and launched heavy-haul moving blocking technology. The railway line is the first to adopt moving blocking system for heavy-haul railway. The company has completed three state-level research projects including one on comprehensive support for railway transport operation and safety based on space, vehicle and ground information coordination. Three of its projects won the silver medal of the National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology, and 31 projects won provincial-level and group-level awards.
