"Smart Manufacturing in China" helps urban rail transit take off

Interviewee profile: Bai Hongbo, serves as director, vice president, director of North China region, and general manager of Beijing Yanxiong Xingye International Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. in Yanxiong Group. He is also a member of the Rail Transit Industry Committee, a member of the China Computer Users Association, and a member of the China Security Association.

At present, China's urban rail transit is in a period of rapid development. There are 26 lines in 10 cities across the country that have opened urban rail transit, with an operating mileage of more than 750 kilometers. In the second half of 2009, Beijing Subway Line 4 was opened, and Tianjin also completed the main structure construction of all stations on Metro Lines 2, 3, and 9. China's intelligent rail transit market has achieved rapid development.

First, the policy of encouraging the development of rail transit has been improved. In the process of coping with the financial crisis, the state proposed to make urban rail transit a priority area for advanced planning and timely construction, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm for rail transit construction and formed a situation of rapid development. Recently, more than 20 cities have reported the recent construction plan of urban rail transit, with 91 planned lines, a total mileage of 2,600 kilometers, and an investment of more than 1 trillion yuan.

Secondly, the technological level of " Made in China " has been significantly improved. In the past, when China was involved in localization work, it rarely had independent intellectual property rights in the core technologies of rail transit. After the localization of urban rail transit, the technological level of China's rail transit has been significantly improved, and its products and technologies have reached the world's advanced level. Beijing Subway Line 4, which opened in September 2009, has the most advanced vibration and noise reduction technology, AFC ticketing and inspection system, and PIS passenger information system.

Third, a standard system has been established. Recently, the National Standards Committee, the Standardization Committee and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction have included 100 standards in the compilation and revision process. In the past 10 years, the number of national standards in the field of rail transit has increased from 3 to 33, and 67 are currently in the process of compilation. After the 100 standards of this standard system are completed, a standard system will be formed to guide and control the construction, operation and management of rail transit in our country.

Fourth, network operation plays a huge role. The annual subway operation volume and passenger flow in Beijing and Shanghai in 2009 reflect the rapid increase in daily passenger volume in large cities in recent years, from 1 million to 4 million. Beijing's 100-kilometer-long subway has a larger passenger volume than Shanghai. These are all changes and progress in China's intelligent rail transit market.

The electronic information industry will play a huge role

Faced with the ever-expanding subway lines and continuously growing urban passenger flow in Chinese cities, how to use information technology to achieve safe, efficient and smooth operation of rail transit has become a topic of research and practice for many rail transit owners in China.

The main information of rail transit, according to the management level, includes basic information of the operation layer (such as automatic ticket collection (AFC), automatic train control system (ATC), power monitoring system (SCADA), environmental and equipment monitoring system (BAS), disaster alarm system (FAS), gas fire extinguishing system (FES), and subway signal system, communication system, main control system, AFC system, PIDS system, etc.), management information (management of the three main businesses of construction management, operation management and resource management), decision-making layer information, etc. The development of the electronic information industry has provided technical support for the construction of urban intelligent rail transit, and its role will surely be more fully exerted.

At present, among the five major fields of chip manufacturing , software design, network equipment, computer services and electronic components, chip manufacturing and computer services benefit the most from intelligent rail transit. The intelligent rail transit market is vast and requires high technological level. The most widely used are computer services and chip manufacturing. Among them, computer services are the special computer industry, because in intelligent transportation, computers are required to have stable, reliable, dustproof, earthquake-resistant and other characteristics, which cannot be guaranteed by PCs. Only special computers can take on the task.

Of the 4 trillion yuan investment, the State Council has approved 2 trillion yuan of railway investment in the transportation industry, and the investment in projects under construction exceeds 1.2 trillion yuan. As a leading enterprise in the special computer industry, EVOC is a direct beneficiary under the guidance of the government's policy of vigorously boosting domestic demand. EVOC's railway signal microcomputer monitoring system plays a core control role in the safe operation of railways and provides protection for railway transportation safety. In terms of urban rail transit equipment, the Beijing subway project is expected to add one new line every year in the next five years. The subway gate machines (AFC), automatic ticket vending machines, and on-board monitoring systems in these subway lines will all use EVOC special computer products. Since EVOC entered the urban rail transit industry at the end of 2003, it has maintained rapid growth every year. In 2009, the subway project brought EVOC hundreds of millions of yuan in sales. At present, EVOC Group has invested 500 million yuan in the first phase to build the "Special Computer (Xi'an) R&D and Production Center" in the High-tech Zone; at the same time, it has invested 1 billion yuan to build a production base in Shenzhen, and built an industrial base of 230,000 square meters, becoming the world's largest and most advanced special computer production and R&D base.

Development of rail transit construction requires advance planning and coordination

At present, in order to maintain the sound and rapid development of intelligent rail transit, the following four relationships need to be resolved.

First, rail transit and urban master planning. Closely integrating urban rail transit with urban master planning is beneficial to the healthy development of the city and truly brings into play the role that rail transit should play.

Secondly, rail transit and other transportation. Only by coordinating the development of various transportation can the healthy development of urban rail transit be truly realized. How to build a green, environmentally friendly, reliable, large-capacity, fast, and borderless public transportation system to achieve effective connection and transfer is a challenge that intelligent rail transit needs to face.

Third, urban rail transit and the city's own capabilities. Now almost all cities refer to the Shanghai and Beijing models to formulate their own rail transit development goals and determine their own rail transit construction goals. The planning and construction of rail transit, on the one hand, must be forward-looking. On the other hand, it must be done within one's capabilities. In planning and design, sufficient flexibility, variability and adaptability must be left for future changes.

Finally, intelligent rail transit technology and cost. The reliability of large-volume operations requires a very high level of reliability, and the relationship between technological maturity and technological innovation should be properly handled. Many domestic technologies are already mature, and we encourage technological innovation, but we cannot blindly pursue so-called new things. In the process of rail transit construction, we must coordinate technology and cost.

High reliability and stability are key

All systems of modern subways are controlled by computers. Each technical link reveals advanced scientific and technological concepts. The application of these high technologies provides a strong guarantee for the safe operation of subways and the safety of people's lives and property. As the first EIP manufacturer in the same industry in China to pass the ISO-9000 quality system certification, EVOC products have successfully passed various strict tests by the expert test group of the "PC Bus Industrial Computer and Automation Products" Appraisal Committee, the Air Force Electronic Equipment Test Center, the Industrial Corporation Testing Center, the China Electronic Products Quality Inspection Center and other testing institutions. EVOC also participated in the formulation of industry standards. Here is a story to share with you. The environment underground in the subway is relatively humid, with changes in electromagnetic fields, vibration, temperature, and humidity. The environment is relatively harsh. Once, a city's first phase of subway bidding used EVOC and a German brand, each accounting for 50%. During the trial operation, ten faults occurred. After checking the cause, it was found that nine of the ten faults were German and one was EVOC.