China is using an artificial intelligence (AI) system in Beijing to operate and maintain its high-speed railway network, which spans a total length of approximately 45,000 kilometers - making it the largest high-speed railway network on the planet.

This AI system has to process a massive amount of data across China in real time, and it can alert maintenance crews to abnormal situations within 40 minutes with an accuracy rate of up to 95%.

"The system helps on-site teams conduct inspections and repairs as quickly as possible," said Liu Daoan, a senior engineer at the infrastructure testing center of China State Railway Group, in a study published in the journal China Railway. China's high-speed railways are the fastest in the world, operating at speeds of 350 km/h and are expected to increase to 400 km/h next year.

With AI, the number of minor track faults on China's operating high-speed rail lines has decreased by 80% in the past year. None of these lines have received a speed reduction warning due to serious track issues. The study also showed that the amplitude of track displacement caused by strong winds has been significantly reduced thanks to AI.

To train the AI system, Chinese scientists had to collect a massive amount of raw data. They gathered data from train body motion records, track vibration, waveform values, and meteorological records. Previously, the maintenance center issued alerts once a week. Now, with AI, reports are issued daily.

(Theo Vietnamnet, Interesting Engineering)