2023 China Urban Rail Transit Expert Forum Held in Xiamen

On September 25th, the China Urban Rail Transit Expert Forum was held in Xiamen. The forum was jointly organized by the Experts & Academic Committees of the China Association of Metros, as well as the magazine “Urban Rapid Rail Transit”. UCD, as a co-organizer of “Urban Rapid Rail Transit”, was in attendance.

This forum consisted of several meetings, including the Third Committee Meeting of Experts & Academic Committees of the China Association of Metros, and the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Urban Rapid Rail Transit Council. The forum’s theme was “Regional Rail Collaboration, Multiple Systems Coordination, and Technological Innovation and Development”. Over 300 experts, scholars, and industry leaders from the urban rail sector across China gathered to exchange ideas, providing professional, scientific, and forward-thinking insights for the high-quality development of urban rail systems in China. 

The magazine “Urban Rapid Rail Transit” is jointly hosted by Beijing Jiaotong University and UCD. Over its 35-year history, under the leadership of Academician Shi Zhongheng of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, it has become a dual-core journal of “the core journal of China technology” and “Chinese core journal”. It stands as the most authoritative comprehensive technical journal in China’s urban rail transit industry. The English version of “Urban Rapid Rail Transit”, known as “Urban Rail Transit”, has also become the first Chinese urban rail professional journal to be indexed in the internationally renowned ESCI database.

The China Urban Rail Transit Expert Forum, initiated by Academician Shi Zhongheng during the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Urban Rapid Rail Transit Council, has been held 20 times to date. Since 2017, the Experts & Academic Committees of the China Association of Metros, together with Urban Rapid Rail Transit, have co-hosted the China Urban Rail Transit Expert Forum, establishing it as a nationally recognized industry-academic forum.
During the opening ceremony of the forum, speeches were delivered by notable figures such as Liang Xiangyang, Permanent Deputy Commander in Chief of Xiamen Rail Transit Construction Headquarters and Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiamen Transportation Bureau; Li Guoyong, Vice President of the China Association of Metros; Shi Zhongheng, Director of the Experts & Academic Committees of the China Association of Metros, Editor in Chief of Urban Rapid Rail Transit, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (via video); Yan Xuedong, Vice President of Beijing Jiaotong University and Chairman of Urban Rapid Rail Transit; and Xu Chengyong, Chief Planner of UCD and Vice Chairman of Urban Rapid Rail Transit.

The conference featured presentations on the work of the Experts & Academic Committees of the China Association of Metros, as well as reports on the work of Urban Rapid Rail Transit.
During the keynote speech segment, several distinguished speakers shared their insights and expertise. Cai Changjun, Deputy General Manager of Guangzhou Metro Group, delivered a keynote speech titled “Research on New Generation Communication and Network Applications for Typical Industries”. Guan Bo, former President of Chongqing Railway Group and Deputy Director of the Experts & Academic Committees, presented a keynote speech titled “Research on the Application of Chongqing Regional Rail Transit Collaborative Transport System”. Zhang Haibo, a national engineering survey and design expert and Deputy Director of the Experts & Academic Committees, gave a keynote speech titled “Selection of Railway Technology in Sichuan”. He Sijin, Chief Engineer of Amoy Transit Rail and member of the Experts & Academic Committees, delivered a keynote speech focused on the “Achievements of Xiamen Rail Transit Engineering Construction and Practice of Collaborative Development”. During the special forum segment, 16 industry experts, including Yu Songwei, a national engineering survey and design expert and Deputy General Manager of UCD, also contributed by delivering exchange speeches.

The conference also held a ceremony to award the appointment letters and outstanding members of the Third Experts & Academic Committees of the China Association of Metros, as well as to recognize the outstanding director units, editorial board members, reviewers, correspondents, and authors of Urban Rapid Rail Transit. Additionally, recognition was extended to the recipients of industry-specific awards in the categories of “Smart Urban Rail” and “Green Urban Rail”.