First Urban Rail Transit Vehicle Bearing Technology Seminar Held in Shanghai

On November 16, 2025, the First Symposium on Bearing Technology for Urban Rail Transit Vehicles was held in Shanghai. This symposium implemented the four guiding principles of "Intelligence, Green Development, Integration, and Innovation" from the China Urban Rail Transit Association, aiming to promote the high-quality development of urban rail transit. Hosted by the Technical Equipment Professional Committee of the China Urban Rail Transit Association, the symposium attracted 13 rail transit construction and operation owners and 24 upstream and downstream enterprises, universities, research institutions, consulting and design units from across the country. Participants jointly discussed the development of bearing technology in the urban rail transit industry and summarized the innovative achievements and applications of bearing technology for urban rail transit vehicles.

Opening Remarks

On the morning of November 16th, the meeting was chaired by Huang Jianwei, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Urban Rail Transit Association. Ding Shukuai, Vice President of the China Urban Rail Transit Association, Zhou Yu, Chairman of the China Bearing Industry Association, and Ding Yuqing, General Manager of Shanghai Jiyou Mingyu Machinery Technology Co., Ltd., delivered speeches.

Vice President Ding Shukuai stated that bearings, as the "heart component" of the running gear of urban rail transit vehicles, are directly related to the safety baseline of urban rail operation and the foundation for the sustainable development of the industry due to their technological maturity and the ability to independently control the industrial chain. They are also a key tool for the association to implement the national strategy of "safety and stability of the industrial chain and supply chain." All sectors of the industry need to work together to promote breakthroughs in bearing technology and optimize the industrial ecosystem, laying a solid technological foundation for the safe and efficient development of urban rail transit.

Chairman Zhou Yu of the China Bearing Industry Association stated that urban rail bearings, as key components, are crucial to equipment safety and efficiency, and have outstanding strategic value for the industry. Significant progress has been made in the localization of urban rail bearings in my country. Luoyang Bearing's metro axle box bearings have safely operated for 240,000 kilometers on the Luoyang Metro, while Shanghai United Rolling Bearings' products have completed 400,000 kilometers of passenger-carrying operation on Shenzhen Metro Line 11, including axle box bearings and motor bearings. National policies provide strong support for the industry; relevant instructions from General Secretary Xi Jinping and documents issued by the State Council General Office have clearly defined application areas, pointing the way for industrial development.

Ding Yuqing, General Manager of Shanghai Jiyou Mingyu, stated that urban rail transit is the "main artery" of a city, and vehicle bearings, as core components, affect many aspects of train performance. While my country boasts the longest rail transit mileage, there are technological bottlenecks in high-end bearings, and breakthroughs are the industry's responsibility. This seminar brought together various parties to overcome technical difficulties. Shanghai Jiyou and its subsidiaries have deep technological accumulation and achievements, and will contribute all their efforts to promote technological progress and industrialization in the future through open cooperation.

Special Reports

Focusing on the Entire Technology Chain and Clarifying the Path to Independent Development

Participating experts and scholars engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions, inspiring development ideas and yielding fruitful results.

At the meeting, Ge Shidong, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai United Rolling Bearing Co., Ltd., shared his insights on "Independent Bearing Development for Urban Rail Vehicles"; Geng Xingjie, General Manager of the Overhaul Center of Shenzhen Metro Operation Group Co., Ltd., summarized "Maintenance and Application of Independent Bearings in Shenzhen Metro Running Gear"; Dr. Yang Chen from Southwest Jiaotong University interpreted "Development Trends of Rail Transit Vehicle Bearing Technology"; Yang Hongbin, Director of the Jinhua Institute of China Academy of Railway Sciences Group Co., Ltd., introduced "Lubrication Technology and Application of Rail Transit Vehicle Bearings"; and Chen Guangsheng, Deputy General Manager of the Railway Bearing Division of Luoyang Bearing Group Co., Ltd., discussed "Common Failure Modes and Countermeasures for Vehicle Bearings".

Exchange and Discussion

Building Industry Consensus and Solidifying the Foundation for Collaborative Development

During the "Speech and Exchange on Urban Rail Vehicle Bearings" session, participants engaged in lively discussions on three main topics: "Actual Application of Vehicle Bearings in Various Regions," "Technical Challenges in Bearing Maintenance," and "Issues and Suggestions for Promoting Domestically Produced Bearings." Frequent interaction and pragmatic viewpoints demonstrated the industry's positive momentum in collaborative efforts.

Participants generally agreed that domestically produced bearings currently possess the technological foundation to enter the urban rail market, but continued efforts are needed in areas such as standardization, performance verification, and supply chain collaboration. Through in-depth discussions, broad consensus was reached on key issues such as "strengthening the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application," "improving bearing technical standards and testing systems," and "jointly building an independent and controllable supply chain ecosystem." These consensuses provide a foundation for further solidifying the collaborative development of the urban rail bearing industry.

Summary and Outlook

Starting with the Seminar, Embarking on a New Journey of Self-Reliance

This seminar systematically covered the entire chain of urban rail vehicle bearings, from "R&D to manufacturing, lubrication, operation and maintenance, and future trends," comprehensively reviewing the current status and core challenges of urban rail bearing technology development in my country, and clearly outlining the path and goals for self-reliance. Li Guoqing, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Technical Equipment Professional Committee of the China Urban Rail Transit Association, delivered a concluding speech. He stated that this seminar, for the first time focusing on the sub-sector of urban rail transit vehicle bearings, established a technical exchange platform, highlighting the technological progress of domestically produced bearings and clarifying a clear path for industry development. By implementing the four guiding documents of "Intelligent, Green, Integrated, and Innovative" for China's urban rail transit, accelerating the overcoming of bottlenecks and ensuring "domestic products for domestic use," a solid foundation has been laid for solving the problem of reliance on imported high-end bearings and promoting the high-quality development of rail transit equipment, which is of great significance to the efficient development of the industry.

Concurrently, the conference included a site visit to a production base. Participants collectively visited the Jiading plant of Shanghai United Rolling Bearing Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Electric Group, a co-organizer. The plant's scientific and rational planning and advanced and efficient layout vividly demonstrate the intelligent and automated characteristics of modern manufacturing. During the visit, the representatives observed the entire production line of bearings, from raw material processing to precision machining, testing, and packaging, and highly praised the company's innovative practices in actively promoting the application of the Industrial Internet and achieving equipment interconnection and real-time data collection. This visit not only allowed participants to personally experience the fruitful results achieved by bearing manufacturers in their Industry 4.0 transformation, but also effectively promoted the exchange of industry experience and technological cooperation.

This conference reached two points of consensus: First, the time is ripe for the widespread application of domestically produced bearings in China's urban rail transit. It is hoped that within 1-2 years, a group of pioneering users will emerge to utilize domestically produced bearings; and within 3-5 years, the number of users applying domestically produced bearings on a large scale will reach 10-15! Second, all sectors of the industry should break away from low-price, low-quality competition and oppose involution! Bearing manufacturers should accelerate breakthroughs in core bearing technology bottlenecks, promote the leap of domestically produced bearings to the high end of the industrial chain and value chain, provide a solid guarantee for the continuous safe operation and high-quality development of my country's urban rail transit, and contribute to the construction of a strong transportation nation!

Fang Shaoxuan and Tong Li, deputy directors of the Technical Equipment Committee of the China Urban Rail Transit Association, equipment experts Long Yucai and Wei Sulai, Wang Zijun, deputy secretary-general of the China Bearing Association, and other representatives from other organizations also attended the conference.