National Railway Administration: The "14th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" will be submitted to the Central Science and Technology Commission for filing, marking the first time it is incorporated into the national science and technology management system.

Title context: National Railway Administration: The "14th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" will be submitted to the Central Science and Technology Commission for filing, marking the first time it is incorporated into the national science and technology management system. Text: Recently, the National Railway Administration released the "15th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), clarifying the guiding ideology, basic principles, development goals, key tasks, and safeguard measures for China's railway science and technology innovation work during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. The "Plan" is of great significance for promoting self-reliance and self-strengthening in railway science and technology, driving high-quality railway development, and supporting the building of a strong nation in science and technology and a strong transportation nation. At the same time, the "Plan" will be submitted to the Central Science and Technology Commission for filing, marking the first time that a railway science and technology innovation plan has been incorporated into the national science and technology management system. The "Plan" specifies that by 2030, a science and technology innovation system leading railway modernization development will be basically established, featuring mature mechanisms, collaborative synergy, complete platforms, concentrated talent, and extensive exchanges. Scientific and technological strength will be substantially enhanced, major breakthroughs will be achieved in key technologies, technical equipment will be more advanced and reliable, engineering construction technology will lead the world, transportation service capacity will be significantly improved, intelligent application scenarios will achieve full-domain coverage, safety guarantee capacity will be comprehensively enhanced, and green and low-carbon technologies will be deeply promoted. This will provide railway science and technology support for building a safe, convenient, efficient, green, economical, inclusive, and resilient sustainable transportation system, and lay a solid foundation for taking the lead in realizing China's railway modernization. The full text is as follows: National Railway Administration Releases the "15th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" Recently, the National Railway Administration released the "15th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), clarifying the guiding ideology, basic principles, development goals, key tasks, and safeguard measures for China's railway science and technology innovation work during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. The "Plan" is of great significance for promoting self-reliance and self-strengthening in railway science and technology, driving high-quality railway development, and supporting the building of a strong nation in science and technology and a strong transportation nation. At the same time, the "Plan" will be submitted to the Central Science and Technology Commission for filing, marking the first time that a railway science and technology innovation plan has been incorporated into the national science and technology management system. The "Plan" points out that since the "14th Five-Year Plan," the railway industry's engineering construction technology has been world-leading, equipment manufacturing technology has become more advanced and applicable, transportation service technology has become more convenient and efficient, digital-intelligent green safety technology has achieved breakthroughs, and the science and technology innovation system has become more complete. However, there are still weak links and shortcomings, such as basic research and original innovation needing strengthening, shortcomings in key core technologies, transportation service quality needing optimization, top scientific and technological talent resources still being insufficient, and bottlenecks in the integration of science and technology innovation and industry. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, facing the triple era propositions of deep intertwining of the global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, comprehensive advancement of the national science and technology innovation strategy, and continuously upgrading travel demands of the people, railway science and technology innovation must take high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology as the core, focus on promoting railway safety enhancement, digital-intelligent upgrading, green transformation, and integrated development, build a world-leading science and technology innovation system, cultivate and develop new quality productive forces, and build solid scientific and technological support for participating in global competition, serving the overall national situation, and meeting the needs of the people. The "Plan" specifies that by 2030, a science and technology innovation system leading railway modernization development will be basically established, featuring mature mechanisms, collaborative synergy, complete platforms, concentrated talent, and extensive exchanges. Scientific and technological strength will be substantially enhanced, major breakthroughs will be achieved in key technologies, technical equipment will be more advanced and reliable, engineering construction technology will lead the world, transportation service capacity will be significantly improved, intelligent application scenarios will achieve full-domain coverage, safety guarantee capacity will be comprehensively enhanced, and green and low-carbon technologies will be deeply promoted. This will provide railway science and technology support for building a safe, convenient, efficient, green, economical, inclusive, and resilient sustainable transportation system, and lay a solid foundation for taking the lead in realizing China's railway modernization. The "Plan" proposes key tasks in seven task areas for railway science and technology innovation during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. First, in the field of basic research and frontier technology, the focus is on promoting independent and controllable technological innovation such as chips, promoting the integrated application of new-generation information technology, accelerating the research and development of new green and intelligent materials and the application of new technologies, and advancing the high degree of coordination between low-altitude technology and railway business. Second, in the field of engineering construction, the focus is on promoting systematic innovation in intelligent construction technology, breaking through bottlenecks in engineering construction technology in complex environments, and strengthening the improvement of existing facility efficiency and resilience assurance. Third, in the field of technical equipment, the focus is on tackling engineering technology for higher-speed trains, advancing research and development of technical equipment for high-altitude railways, promoting the upgrading of green and intelligent equipment, and deepening technological innovation in engineering construction and maintenance equipment. Fourth, in the field of transportation services, the focus is on promoting the intelligent upgrading of passenger transport services, advancing the digital-intelligent transformation of freight services, deepening key technology research for improving transportation efficiency, and promoting new breakthroughs in all scenarios of "four-network integration" of rail transit. Fifth, in the field of digital-intelligent railways, the focus is on promoting the construction of high-quality datasets, strengthening the construction of railway big data platforms, enhancing railway data collaborative sharing and cybersecurity assurance, and deepening basic research on the application of "AI + railways." Sixth, in the field of safety assurance, the focus is on building safety defense lines for new business forms and new technologies, enhancing railway health management and disaster resistance capabilities, strengthening proactive safety protection capabilities, and improving emergency rescue support levels. Seventh, in the field of green and low-carbon development, the focus is on promoting innovation in green construction technology, advancing the low-carbon transformation of transportation equipment, promoting green-intelligent integrated operation and maintenance, and establishing and improving a carbon management system. To implement the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee at the symposium on strengthening basic research, compared with the "14th Five-Year Plan" railway science and technology innovation plan, the "Plan" adds the field of basic research and frontier technology to better promote high-level self-reliance and self-strengthening in railway science and technology. The "Plan" emphasizes that the implementation of the "Plan" should be guaranteed through five measures: "strengthening organizational leadership, strengthening platform construction, accelerating standards leadership, strengthening talent cultivation, and strengthening plan implementation." Policy Interpretation of the "15th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" To implement the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, strengthen the top-level design of industry science and technology innovation, plan the key directions of railway science and technology innovation during the "15th Five-Year Plan," promote the application of emerging technologies and industrial upgrading, and drive high-quality railway development, the National Railway Administration issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for Railway Science and Technology Innovation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). The situation is explained as follows: I. Drafting Process In accordance with the work arrangements of the National Railway Administration for the compilation of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the Department of Science, Technology, and Legal Affairs of the Administration launched preliminary basic research work for the compilation of the "Plan," clarified the compilation principles, and systematically condensed planning ideas and major projects; established a plan drafting group and working group, coordinating six units including CRRC Corporation, China Railway, China Communications and Transportation Association, China Railway Signal & Communication Corporation, CHN Energy, and China Academy of Railway Sciences, each taking the lead in the compilation of plans in six major fields: equipment, engineering, transportation, safety, low-carbon, and digital intelligence. Through multiple rounds of plan promotion meetings, online seminars, special field research, and expert review meetings, opinions were widely solicited from major industry enterprises, universities, research institutes, and relevant units (departments) of the Administration. After conducting and passing the macro policy orientation consistency assessment, science and technology innovation consistency review, fair competition review, legality review, and grassroots burden reduction consistency assessment in accordance with regulations, a draft for review was formed. In September 2026, the "Plan" was approved by the Administration's executive meeting and issued for implementation. II. Overall Requirements of the Plan Based on the triple era propositions of deep intertwining of the global scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, comprehensive advancement of the national science and technology innovation strategy, and continuously upgrading travel demands of the people, the "Plan" adheres to the basic principles of "building a solid foundation, independent and controllable, resilient and safe, green and intensive, digital-intelligent empowerment, digital-real integration, collaborative innovation, and standards leadership," and proposes the overall goals and main goals for 2030 as well as the long-range goals for 2035. Column 1 is established to quantify the main goals from five aspects: "deploying a batch of strategic scientific and technological forces, breaking through a batch of key technical bottlenecks, creating a batch of benchmark demonstration projects, building a new pattern of digital-intelligent empowerment innovation and development, and forging a new ecosystem of open and collaborative innovation and development." III. Key Tasks of the Plan To implement the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee at the symposium on strengthening basic research, compared with the "14th Five-Year Plan" railway science and technology innovation plan, the "Plan" adds the field of basic research and frontier technology, and optimizes it into seven major task sections: basic research and frontier technology, engineering construction, technical equipment, transportation services, digital-intelligent railways, safety assurance, and green and low-carbon development. Columns are set up around the seven task areas, refining 61 landmark and leading key projects: First, the field of basic research and frontier technology. Four key tasks are proposed: "promoting independent and controllable technological innovation such as chips, promoting the integrated application of new-generation information technology, accelerating the research and development of new green and intelligent materials and the application of new technologies, and advancing the high degree of coordination between low-altitude technology and railway business," specifying seven key projects including "advancing the research and application of railway-specific chip technology." Second, the field of engineering construction. Three key tasks are proposed: "promoting systematic innovation in intelligent construction technology, breaking through bottlenecks in engineering construction technology in complex environments, and strengthening the improvement of existing facility efficiency and resilience assurance," specifying nine key projects including "developing a vertical large model application platform for railway survey and design." Third, the field of technical equipment. Four key tasks are proposed: "tackling engineering technology for higher-speed trains, advancing research and development of technical equipment for high-altitude railways, promoting the upgrading of green and intelligent equipment, and deepening technological innovation in engineering construction and maintenance equipment," specifying nine key projects including "advancing the engineering application of 400 km/h high-speed EMU equipment." Fourth, the field of transportation services. Four key tasks are proposed: "promoting the intelligent upgrading of passenger transport services, advancing the digital-intelligent transformation of freight services, deepening key technology research for improving transportation efficiency, and promoting new breakthroughs in all scenarios of 'four-network integration' of rail transit," specifying ten key projects including "implementing the intelligent upgrading project of China Railway 12306 ticketing system." Fifth, the field of digital-intelligent railways. Four key tasks are proposed: "promoting the construction of high-quality datasets, strengthening the construction of railway big data platforms, enhancing railway data collaborative sharing and cybersecurity assurance, and deepening basic research on the application of 'AI + railways,'" specifying eight key projects including "building railway industry large models and computing infrastructure." Sixth, the field of safety assurance. Four key tasks are proposed: "building safety defense lines for new business forms and new technologies, enhancing railway health management and disaster resistance capabilities, strengthening proactive safety protection capabilities, and improving emergency rescue support levels," specifying nine key projects including "developing a multi-source perception and risk-graded decision-making model for train operation safety based on lightweight edge intelligence." Seventh, the field of green and low-carbon development. Four key tasks are proposed: "promoting innovation in green construction technology, advancing the low-carbon transformation of transportation equipment, promoting green-intelligent integrated operation and maintenance, and establishing and improving a carbon management system," specifying nine key projects including "promoting the establishment of a railway carbon measurement center." Finally, the implementation of the "Plan" is guaranteed through five measures: "strengthening organizational leadership, strengthening platform construction, accelerating standards leadership, strengthening talent cultivation, and strengthening plan implementation." This article is edited from the "National Railway Administration" official account, GMTEight editor: Chen Siyu.