On December 28, the much-anticipated Zhengzhou Airport-Xuchang Intercity Railway (hereinafter referred to as the “Zhengxu Intercity Railway”) officially went into operation. Linking up Zhengzhou in the north and Xuchang in the south, the line is the first intercity rail transit line within the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Circle and even the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration, as well as the first subway line in Xuchang, which is of great significance to the promotion of “Zhengzheng-Xuchang Integration”.
In addition to providing a fully automatic signaling system solution, as the technical leader, CASCO developed a function outline of the fully automatic operation linkage scenarios suitable for the Zhengxu Intercity Railway, and coordinated the realization of fully automatic system functions among five core divisions, i.e., trains, signals, communications, integrated monitoring, and platform screen doors, as well as the functional test of the fully automatic operation linkage scenarios, providing strong support to ensure the high-quality opening of the line.
The line starts from North Chang’an Road Station in Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in the north and ends at Xuchangdong Railway Station in Xuchang City in the south. The total length of the line is 67.13 km, with 33.43 km in Zhengzhou and 33.7 km in Xuchang. There are 27 stations along the line, including 1 transfer station, and passengers can transfer to the suburban line, which was jointly built by CASCO and other parties, at the Gangqu Bei Station. After the line is opened, the maximum speed of the train can reach 120km/h. The "high-density & short-train" bus-like operation model ensures that a Zhengzhou-Xuchang trip can be achieved in one hour.
This is another GoA4 fully automatic operation benchmark project that CASCO has successfully built in Henan Province after Zhengzhou Metro Line 10, featuring automatic train wake-up/sleep, automatic yard entry/exit, automatic driving, automatic door opening/closing, remote restart, etc.
In addition, the Zhengxu Intercity Railway has also launched the intelligent dispatching function for the first time in Zhengzhou rail transit, which can adjust the operation plan in real time according to the passenger flow to accurately match the transportation capacity. In case of an equipment failure or emergency, dispatching and commanding personnel can comprehensively integrate relevant information through a multi-disciplinary command interface, provide auxiliary decision-making for rapid response, resume operations in the shortest time, and minimize the impact on passengers’ travel.
These technical means not only effectively ensure the safety and efficiency of passengers' travel, but also bring a new travel experience for smart subways. The full sense of technology attracted many passengers to take the first ride. According to incomplete statistics, 77,000 passengers were on board for the test ride on the first day, setting a record. With the opening of the Zhengzhou-Xuchang Intercity Railway, CASCO has helped Zhengzhou's subway network extend its operating mileage to 344.83 km, once again refreshing the construction process of the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Circle on rail.
In addition to actively participating in project construction, CASCO also worked with Zhengzhou Metro Group to compile the Henan Province local standard, Specifications for Fully Automatic Operation Linkage Function of Urban Metro Lines, which standardized and normalized the successful experience of the first fully automatic lines in Henan, such as Zhengzhou-Xuchang Intercity Railway and Zhengzhou Metro Line 10. The standard has been officially released recently, which will help further contribute to the promotion and application of the advanced technologies of fully automatic operation.
