As of February 25, China’s first intelligent locomotive maintenance depot has cumulatively serviced 10,000 locomotives. Officially launched on January 18, 2024, at CHN Energy Xinshuo Railway, the facility is equipped with 23 advanced systems, including 16 automated robots. It conducts over 4,000 inspection points across critical areas such as locomotive roofs, undercarriages and running gear. The depot integrates automated cleaning, intelligent maintenance, automated sand replenishment and waste removal, smart pantograph inspections, and wheel-set flaw detection.

Centered on an Integrated Management and Control Platform, the depot employs cutting-edge technologies like phased array ultrasonic flaw detection, intelligent robotic control and big data analytics. These innovations enable automated scheduling of maintenance plans, task assignments to connected equipment, and real-time data collection, achieving end-to-end intelligent management. The platform also monitors workflow progress, repair quality and operational efficiency, significantly boosting locomotive utilization.

Since its inauguration, the facility has optimized 15 maintenance processes, improving efficiency by 20% and reducing manual labor by 60%. Visual inspections of locomotive roofs and undercarriages are now fully automated, while sand replenishment requires minimal human intervention. Maintenance times for 10,000-ton locomotives have been reduced from 150 to 120 minutes, and for smaller trains from 120 to 98 minutes. The depot now handles up to 49 locomotives daily, setting a new benchmark in rail maintenance productivity.