Today, high-speed rail has become the first choice for many travelers. Yet before 2007, China did not have a single high-speed railway in the true sense.

When the EMU trains were first introduced, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co., Ltd. made up its mind not only to introduce and absorb foreign high-speed rail technology, but also to independently innovate China's high-speed rail technology and cultivate the company's capacity for independent innovation.

To this end, they proposed a “1:7” investment philosophy: for every 1 yuan spent on introducing technology, 7 yuan would be invested in independent innovation. On this arduous path of persisting in both introduction and absorption and independent innovation, CRRC Sifang went from “catching up” to “leading the way,” successfully developing the CRH380A EMU, the world's fastest with a design speed of 380 km/h, and setting the world's highest railway operational test speed of 486.1 km/h, creating one “golden name card” after another for China's high-speed rail.

Innovation-driven development keeps CRRC Sifang in the lead

Being ahead for a moment does not mean being ahead forever; only with the capacity for independent innovation can one truly possess one's “special expertise.”

In recent years, CRRC Sifang has built four national-level R&D and testing platforms, including the National Engineering Research Center for High-Speed EMU Assembly and the National Engineering Laboratory for High-Speed Train System Integration, and has established in the high-speed rail field 19 world-leading simulation platforms and 17 test verification platforms; it has created a high-speed rail “talent Silicon Valley,” bringing together a group of top-notch talents and leaders with strong independent innovation capabilities and extensive industry influence.

Innovation-driven development keeps CRRC Sifang in the lead. In 2011, a higher-speed test train set the highest laboratory rolling test speed of 605 km/h; in 2012, the first intercity EMU filled a domestic gap; in 2014, an EMU resistant to severe cold and wind-blown sand was launched; in 2015, a permanent-magnet high-speed EMU was successfully developed……

Last June, the Chinese-standard EMU made its debut. “The Chinese-standard EMU establishes Chinese standards for the design and manufacture of high-speed EMUs in 13 technical fields, with core technologies fully independent. It will become an important technical platform for high-speed rail going global in the future and is expected to complete line assessment within this year,” said Yan Guizhen, senior chief designer at CRRC Sifang.

Collaborative innovation: a “combined punch” delivers a multiplier effect

CRRC Sifang's innovation practice has formed a uniquely distinctive innovation model, namely “government-led, enterprise-based, market-oriented” collaborative innovation among government, industry, academia, research and users, delivering a “combined punch” and exerting a multiplier effect.

Under government leadership, with 10 core enterprises including CRRC Sifang as the main body, together with relevant universities, research institutions and national-level innovation platforms in China, the world's largest China high-speed train technology innovation “joint fleet” was formed.

“This innovation system breaks down the barriers between departments, industries, institutions and enterprises, enabling us to integrate domestic innovation resources, which both reduces innovation risks and costs and accelerates innovation efficiency,” said Ding Sansan, deputy chief engineer and director of the Technology Center at CRRC Sifang.

In 2012, under the leadership of the Ministry of Science and Technology, CRRC Sifang joined with 16 research institutes and enterprises to establish the China High-Speed Train Industry Technology Innovation Alliance. Later, CRRC Sifang initiated the establishment of the China Innovation Design Industry Strategic Alliance.

Led by China Railway Corporation, with the China Academy of Railway Sciences and CRRC Sifang jointly working with nearly 30 units participating in the development, an innovation organizational framework closely integrating “industry, academia, research and users” was formed. From the start of R&D to the rollout of the product, the Chinese-standard EMU took only more than two years.