First domestic rail transit control chip tests successfully

The first domestically-made rail transit control chip recently passed tests in Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning province.

At the simulation lab of CRRC Dalian R&D Co Ltd, the chip was embedded into the network control system. As the departure switch closes, more than two million control commands pass precisely through the chip, which is as small as a fingernail, and drive the simulated high-speed train to run smoothly.

The chip is expected to be fully applied to China’s high-speed trains – the China Railway High-speed train nicknamed "Harmony", as well as Renaissance Electric Multiple Units.

The rail transit network control system is like the brain of a train, while the control chip is like the neurons, through which all signals are sent to various parts of the vehicle.

The birth of the first domestic rail transit control chip will free China's high-speed rail train from dependence on imported chips, according to Chen Yufei, director of the basic research and development department of the lab.

"The chip can be optimized and upgraded according to the actual demand, leaving a huge space for the future development of China's high-speed rail,” Chen said.

With the rapid development of China's high-speed railways, introducing technology from foreign manufacturers, such as Toshiba and Alstom, can hardly meet the demands of speed and stability, he said. With 10 years of research and development, engineers with the CRRC Dalian R&D Co Ltd captured more than 20 technical difficulties to make it.