AI Brought The Order To China’s Railways

Artificial intelligence introduced into the infrastructure of China’s high-speed railways has reduced the number of minor track repairs by 80%. However, in 2023, none of the lines received warnings about the need to reduce speed due to technical problems.

The data management protocol for the implementation of AI algorithms on the railway in China was implemented by the operator of the national railway network, the Chinese state-owned company China State Railway Group, in 2022. Access to data had to be limited and protected from third-party interference and leaks. Control algorithms were tested by people, and only after that they were implemented. Large-scale testing began in 2023. The result was stunning – the railway began to work even better than the new one (immediately after the sections and trains were put into operation).

Sensors are installed on infrastructure facilities, on wheelsets, on cars, to take into account vibrations, acceleration and amplitudes, and this is not to mention conventional signaling automation. The volume of data collected for analysis has reached 200 terabytes, and these are not pictures or videos, but ordinary register states. A person and no matter how large a team would be able to quickly process such a volume of information. All this is data on 45 thousand km of tracks – this is longer than the Earth’s equator. There is not enough manpower to service all this.