China Energy Launches Heavy-Haul Freight Train “State-based” Intelligent Maintenance and Repair

The launch ceremony of heavy-haul freight train “state-based” intelligent maintenance and repair of China Energy kicked off at Huanghua Port on October 28. With the order of an instructor, the train 8149 comprised of 54 Type-C80 carriages slowly rolled off the Z1 intelligent maintenance service line at Huanghua Port, marking a transition of China Energy’s heavy-haul freight trains from “plan-based” to “state-based” repair. It also indicated that China’s heavy-haul freight train maintenance and repair has entered a new era of smart diagnosis and targeted repair.

In his speech at the ceremony, Liu Guoyue, CEO of China Energy, extended his gratitude on behalf of China Energy for the National Railway Administration, the municipal government of Cangzhou, and experts, academicians and research institutions contributing to the project. He pointed out that China Energy has upheld new development concepts and promoted new development by implementing its corporate development strategy aiming to build a world-class energy enterprise group with global competitiveness. It has consistently made technological innovation the primary driving force for development, and played a lead role as a key centrally administered enterprise. In recent years, it has achieved remarkable results in technological innovation, developed a number of core technologies, and completed many world-leading demonstration projects. The heavy-haul freight train “state-based” intelligent maintenance and repair is a key result achieved by China Energy through technological innovation in the construction of intelligent railway during the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-2020). It provides important support for the “west-to-east coal transmission” and national power safety and supply, and plays a guiding role in future construction of heavy-haul intelligent railways.

The heavy-haul freight train “state-based” intelligent maintenance and repair is a new model developed by China Energy’s Railway Equipment Company through tireless exploration. It features autonomous decision-making on freight train maintenance and repair based on smart judgment of their health conditions, thus further enhancing the operation quality, turnover efficiency and transport efficiency of freight trains. The Z1 intelligent maintenance service line developed by China Energy’s Railway Equipment Company is the first of its kind in China’s railway sector. It can achieve precise fault locating, rapid repair and bulk component replacement and radically repair faults, and boasts a high degree of intelligence and automation, greatly increasing the efficiency and accuracy of freight train overhaul and maintenance. Compared to the “plan-based repair” mode, the Z1 intelligent maintenance service line can daily provide repair and maintenance services for four trains, less than four hours per train. It can reduce the overhaul and repair cost of a freight train in its full life cycle by at least 20 percent, and brings a profound change to train overhaul methods and layout.

During the ceremony, attendees visited the train repair workshop of China Energy’s Cangzhou Company to learn about the “state-based repair” HCCBM system data intelligent transmission, equipment of the repair line, operation of the Z1 service line, and other technological innovations of the equipment company, and watched a video about the “state-based repair” mode.