2^nd Urban Rail Transit Renewal and Renovation Technology Exchange Meeting Held in Beijing

The 2^nd Urban Rail Transit Renewal and Renovation Technology Exchange Meeting was recently held in Beijing. Under the guidance of the China Association of Metros (CAMET), the meeting was hosted by CAMET’s Technical Equipment Committee and Design & Consulting Committee, and Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corporation Limited, and organized by UCD.

 There were more than 300 attendees from enterprises and public institutions across China, including urban rail transit operation enterprises, design and research institutes, colleges/universities, and equipment manufacturers. 

 Xia Xiujiang, Party chief, chairman and general manager of UCD, and head of CAMET’s Design & Consulting Committee, stated in his speech that China’s urban rail transit sector has moved from a stage of large-scale new construction and expansion to a new stage of high-quality renewal and renovation, as well as refined operation and maintenance improvement. He pointed out that UCD has always adhered to technological innovation and kept abreast of industry development and transformation trends, adding that it teams up with urban rail constructors and operators nationwide to conduct research on topics, seek technological breakthroughs, carry out equipment research and development, formulate industry standards, etc. To be specific, UCD has completed the renewal and renovation of 900-plus existing lines in total and led the compilation of the Urban Rail Transit Renewal and Renovation Book Series, offering practical reference for industry growth, said Xia. In the coming years, UCD will continuously fulfill its responsibilities as a supporter for the Design & Consulting Committee and build an efficient platform for industry communication and collaboration, with a view to promoting technological interoperability, experience sharing and collaborative innovation within the urban rail transit industry, and facilitating the high-quality, sustainable and sound development of the industry.

Fan Weicheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor of Tsinghua University, delivered a keynote speech on urban rail transit safety and disaster prevention, during which he presented a systematic overview of multi-dimensional research approaches spanning numerical simulation, model experiments to field experiments, as well as the achievements in the establishment of an early warning platform, in order to address typical disaster challenges in metro systems, including fire prevention and control, flooding response and personnel evacuation.

 Lu Weidong, chief engineer of UCD, delivered a keynote speech titled "Key technologies and considerations for civil engineering renovation of existing metro lines in megacities without service suspension (with minimal service suspension)", and prospectively proposed the concepts of "construction-renovation integration and reserve prioritization", "minimal-disturbance construction method", "graded adaptation + digital simulation", and "resilience-oriented long-term renewal".

Representatives from owners in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin, Chongqing and other major cities, and technicians from China Railway Design Corporation, China Railway Signal & Communication Shanghai Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd. and CRRC P&D Institute Co., Ltd. held in-depth exchanges on topics such as the renewal and renovation of existing lines’ facilities and equipment, overhaul management, signal system upgrades, and the application of an autonomous train operation system, contributing wisdom and experience to the renovation of existing urban rail transit lines. 

This meeting fosters connectivity of the entire industry chain covering operation, design, research, and equipment, driving the deep integration of top-level standard research, cutting-edge technological innovation and frontline engineering practice. The participants unanimously agreed that the renewal and renovation of existing lines is of great significance as it directly affects the safe operation of urban public transportation. Going forward, industry players will continuously deepen cross-regional and cross-disciplinary collaboration, further improve the standards system for renewal and renovation, and strive to overcome difficulties in developing key technologies such as renovation in non-stop operation and intelligent inspection, thereby injecting strong momentum into the high-quality and sustainable development of China's urban rail transit industry.