BEIJING: China, which operates the world’s largest high-speed rail network, has issued a railway science and technology innovation plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
This innovation plan outlines key tasks in basic research and frontier technologies, engineering construction, technical equipment, transport services, digital and intelligent railways, safety, and green and low-carbon development.
The plan, recently released by the National Railway Administration (NRA), proposes to basically establish a science and technology innovation system that leads railway modernization by 2030. During the 2026-2030 period, China plans to build about 30 new railway industry science and technology innovation bases under the NRA, achieve breakthroughs in no fewer than 100 key core technologies, and produce no less than 500 major scientific and technological achievements.
It will also plan no fewer than 20 typical application scenarios or demonstration projects in areas such as the 400 km/h high-speed train operating system.
Regarding technical equipment, the plan proposes to steadily and orderly advance research on 600 km/h high-speed maglev technology as well as testing and verification of key technologies for domestic production. In the case of transport services, the plan will promote upgrading the official 12306 ticketing platform from a single ticket-buying service to whole-journey intelligent services, providing one-stop intermodal travel solutions that precisely match passengers’ “personalized, differentiated and diversified” needs. China will accelerate the building of large models, datasets and computing power infrastructure in the railway industry, and will establish a minimum of 20 high-quality industry datasets and more than 20 typical artificial intelligence application scenarios, according to the plan.
Concerning green and low-carbon development, the plan calls for promoting demonstration operation of low-emission and low-fuel-consumption diesel locomotives as well as locomotives and rolling stock with multi-source power such as battery and hydrogen, establishing and improving a carbon management system, and helping total railway carbon emissions peak by 2030.
In contrast to the railway sci-tech innovation plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the new plan places greater emphasis on basic research and frontier technologies, thereby better advancing high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strength in the railway sector.
By the end of 2025, the country’s total operating railway mileage had reached 165,000 km, including more than 50,000 km of high-speed rail.
On Sept. 28 this year, China opened four high-speed rail sections, connecting Xiong’an in north China’s Hebei Province with Shangqiu in Henan Province in central China, Xi’an with Ankang in Shaanxi Province in northwest China, Yichang with Xingshan in central China’s Hubei Province, and Harbin with Yichun in Heilongjiang Province in the country’s northeast.
During the National Day holiday, which lasted from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, these new lines made it easier for people to visit relatives and brought new vitality to tourism along the routes.
China’s high-speed rail network is projected to hit 70,000 km by 2035, featuring eight north-south vertical lines and eight east-west horizontal lines. Once complete, the network will connect major cities, city clusters and key economic zones across the country. –Agencies
