Representative Zou Ming: The demand for steel rails is shifting towards a new stage of emphasizing both new construction and existing maintenance

Currently, the steel industry is facing the contradiction of "strong supply and weak demand". Specifically, in the field of steel rails, what is the changing trend of demand structure?
Although the traditional peak of large-scale new construction has passed, the demand for steel rails is shifting from the past 'incremental expansion' to a new stage of 'equal emphasis on new construction and existing maintenance'. In particular, the densification of the central and western road networks, early line speed upgrades, and the continuous development of urban rail transit still provide a stable market space for high-end steel rails. "On March 11th, Zou Ming, a first level expert and senior engineer at the Rail Transit Steel Technology Research Institute of Angang Group Vanadium Titanium (Steel) Research Institute, made a clear judgment on the trend of the domestic steel rail market based on industry developments and years of practice at Panzhihua Iron and Steel in an interview with China Metallurgical News.
How should enterprises respond to and strengthen their core competitiveness in the face of this clear structural change in the market? Zou Ming further emphasized that the key to core competitiveness lies in anchoring "technological leadership" and "excellent quality", which is directly guided by the national macro-control policy of "reducing emissions and improving quality".
We are turning pressure into motivation and focusing on high-end and differentiated development. For example, we are deeply cultivating special environment rails, relying on our unique resource endowment, developing special steel rails for extreme environments such as cold and humid tunnels, and solving the technical bottlenecks of major projects. Zou Ming also revealed that in the future, Panzhihua Iron and Steel will closely focus on the requirements of the national "15th Five Year Plan" for a strong transportation country and new quality productivity, focusing on "longevity" and intelligence, green and low-carbon manufacturing, as well as cutting-edge material research and development, to provide better steel rail materials for achieving a better life.
While focusing on the domestic market and deeply cultivating the high-end market, China's internationalization of steel rails has become increasingly solid and powerful, moving from the domestic stage to a global perspective. China's steel rail products have been exported to more than 40 countries and regions around the world. In recent years, several landmark projects have been exciting: all the 100 meter long fixed length steel rails supporting the Jakarta Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia are supplied by Chinese enterprises; The domestically produced 50 meter steel rails were exported to Europe for the first time for the construction of the Hungary Serbia railway; The 50 meter special type steel rail is exported to Africa for the first time for the renovation of South African railway lines. These cases vividly demonstrate that Chinese steel rails have successfully broken through the limitations of "meeting domestic demand" and steadily entered the international high-end market, demonstrating the hardcore strength of "Made in China".
When it comes to the internationalization and advancement of Chinese steel rails, Zou Ming gave a clear positioning: "Currently, China's internationalization of steel rails is moving from 'product output' to 'technology output' and then to 'standard output'. We can not only mass produce high-end steel rails that meet the world's most stringent standards, but also take the lead in the formulation of international standards." He further gave examples to illustrate that China has led the development of the first ISO international standard for railway applications, 'Rail Welding', and Chinese experts have also held many key positions in the ISO Railway Application Technical Committee. This breakthrough is of great significance, indicating that Chinese technology is gradually integrating into world rules and becoming an important leading force in the development of the global rail industry.
As a researcher who has been deeply involved in the research and development of steel rails for a long time, Zou Ming points out based on his own practical experience that promoting China's steel rail technology and standards to truly go global is not a breakthrough in a single link, but the key is to achieve "triple integration", which can be achieved from three aspects:
One is the integration of technology and demand, with the core being to eliminate working in isolation. Zou Ming stated that the research and development of steel rails must deeply study the natural environment, operating conditions, cultural habits, and even policies and regulations of the target market, and accurately connect with local actual needs. For example, customizing high temperature and wind resistant steel rails for Africa and providing products that meet strict environmental and certification requirements for Europe require our research and development work to have a global perspective and customization capabilities, so that technology can truly serve practical needs.
The second is the integration of innovation and standards, with technological innovation being the core foundation of standard output. Zou Ming believes that cutting-edge research achievements such as new alloy design and intelligent monitoring technology should be quickly transformed into quantifiable and detectable technical specifications, and actively proposed as international standards. At the same time, we should actively participate in or even lead the revision of international standards, "code" China's advantageous technologies into global common rules, and enable China's innovative achievements to be recognized by the world.
The third is the integration of industry, academia, research and application with the industrial chain. It is difficult to stand firm in global competition alone. Zou Ming emphasized the need to build an innovative ecosystem with enterprises as the main body, market orientation, and deep integration of industry, academia, research and application, and promote close cooperation among scientific research institutions, manufacturing enterprises, railway operators, overseas customers, and even engineering general contractors. Through overall projects such as the Hungary Serbia Railway and the Jakarta Bandung High Speed Railway, China's rail products, welding technology, maintenance standards, and even intelligent operation and maintenance systems are packaged and exported, ultimately achieving a transformation and upgrading from "selling products" to "providing system solutions", allowing China's rail to have more sustainable competitiveness in the global market.