Fengtai West Railway Station, the largest freight hub in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the nation's first automated hump yard, marked its 70th anniversary yesterday (25th). Since its establishment in 1956, initially relying on manual labor, the station has evolved through digital and intelligent upgrades. Over the past seven decades, it has handled over 443 million railcars in total, equivalent to circling the Earth's equator 121 times. As a critical node for transporting coal from Shanxi, moving grain from northern to southern China, and facilitating China-Europe freight trains, the station has consistently safeguarded the smooth flow of the national economy's main artery.
As a top-class station with 125 tracks connecting eight major railway lines and reaching 32 directions across the country, Fengtai West serves as the primary route for shipping coal from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, a vital lifeline for transporting northern grain southward, and a key network stop for China-Europe freight trains. It shoulders the heavy responsibility of moving large volumes of essential supplies. Daily, coal, grain, building materials, and other goods from various regions arrive here to be disassembled, sorted, and reassembled into new trains bound for destinations nationwide. For instance, coal shipments from Shanxi and Inner Mongolia arrive via the Fengsha and Jingyuan lines, are regrouped, and then dispatched to power plants and steel mills in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Northeast China, and East China. Meanwhile, corn and soybeans from the northeast are assembled here and sent southward along the Jingjiu and Jingguang lines to reach dining tables across the country.
Chen Yujin, a veteran employee who has worked at the station for 38 years and is set to retire in 2025, reflected on the dramatic changes while standing before the station's historical model. "When I first arrived in 1987, the station handled only about 15,000 railcars per day," he remarked. Over 70 years, the station has achieved leapfrog development, expanding from a simple marshaling yard with just 14 tracks to a top-class facility with 125 tracks. It now connects to eight major railway lines, including the Jingguang, Jinghu, Jingjiu, and Fengsha lines, providing access to 32 directions across North China, East China, Central China, Northeast China, and Northwest China.
Chen also noted the technological transformation: manual track switching and hand-pushed shunting operations have been replaced by modern, technology-driven processes. Outdoor work areas are now sheltered by canopies, station roads are wide and clean, and both freight efficiency and employee working conditions have undergone remarkable improvements.
Technological empowerment has injected new momentum, enabling the station to break the record of handling over 30,000 railcars in a single day. Data shows that on November 8, 2025, Fengtai West Station handled 30,197 railcars in one day, a historic high. If these cars were lined up end to end, they would circle Beijing's Fifth Ring Road three and a half times. In March of this year, the station's average daily handling volume reached 25,000 cars, an increase of over 4,000 cars compared to the same period in 2015.
The capability to handle over 30,000 railcars daily is underpinned by technological innovation. Cui Xianwen, Party Branch Secretary of the station's dispatch workshop, explained that in 2015, the station upgraded its Synthetically Automated Marshalling yard system (SAM). This centralized planning, command, and train reception/departure positions into a single dispatch hall, shifting operations from a decentralized model to regional concentration. Through continuous upgrades, the system has incorporated new functions such as error prevention during power outages, handling poor shunting conditions, and controlling oversize trains, thereby strengthening transport safety. An integrated bureau-station system can now generate electronic technical operation charts, and an evaluation system precisely analyzes operational bottlenecks, providing scientific support for transport organization.
Today, Fengtai West Station has achieved precise speed control at humps, automated equipment operation, and real-time big data analysis of train flows. The entire process—from train breaking-up and formation to traffic organization and safety monitoring—is intelligent, leading to continuously reduced transit times. The station has become a benchmark for standardization and规范化建设 within the China State Railway Group.
Cui revealed that this year, the station has comprehensively launched upgrades to the GSM-R wireless communication system (used for driver-station communication, transmission of dispatch orders, and route previews), a major overhaul of the SAM system (used for train reception/departure and issuing technical operation notices), and an upgrade of the TOPS transport production organization management system (used for receiving/sending real-time wagon data, shift plans, stage plans, and shunting plans). These projects are expected to be fully completed by year-end.
Beyond continuous upgrades in freight capacity, the surrounding environment of Fengtai West Station has also been transformed in recent years, thanks to support from the Fengtai District government, Kandan Subdistrict, and Wanping Subdistrict. The most notable improvement is the upgrade of the station's central axis road.
"The central axis road used to be full of potholes, prone to severe waterlogging, with chaotic parking and difficult travel. Now, the road surface is smooth, parking is orderly, and it's pleasant whether walking or driving," said Chen Yujin, expressing his satisfaction with the changes.
This central axis road, located in the core area of the station, stretches over 2,000 meters. It passes by 183 compounds belonging to 11 railway units and serves as the main thoroughfare for railway employees and nearby residents. Hou Shiqi, director of the station's logistics workshop, explained that the road was previously narrow, with a damaged surface causing water accumulation, and vehicles were parked haphazardly, severely impacting travel and the station's environment. To address this, the Beijing Bureau of the China State Railway Group established a special task force, and the station formed a management committee, launching the central axis road renovation project in September 2025. Construction was completed in just four months.
The renovated road is completely renewed: widened from 4 meters to 6 meters, paved with smooth asphalt, and equipped with over 1,300 meters of new drainage pipes, effectively solving the waterlogging problem. Sixty new streetlights were added to improve nighttime safety. Notably, seven new parking lots were built along the road, providing 350 parking spaces and fundamentally resolving parking difficulties.
The renovation benefits not only the travel of over 6,500 people from the 11 units within the station area but also nearby residents. Wu Yuan, Section Chief of the Wanping Subdistrict Office for Peaceful Construction in Fengtai District, stated that the upgraded road has effectively alleviated east-west traffic pressure in Wanping and Kandan subdistricts. It also connects Yonghe Village and Beitiantang Village, helping residents avoid congested routes.
In May 2025, Fengtai West Station also constructed a canopy each over the upbound and downbound hump operation areas—the core zones for efficiently breaking down and assembling freight trains—significantly improving working conditions for frontline staff. Guo Hanqiao, director of the station's No. 1 Yard workshop, explained that summer temperatures in the hump area can reach 40 degrees Celsius. Harsh weather not only affected operational safety but also shortened equipment lifespan. Since the canopies were installed, summer temperatures in the work area have dropped by 13 to 16 degrees Celsius. They effectively shield workers from rain, snow, strong winds, dust, and reduce glare, earning widespread praise from employees.
Today, Fengtai West Station handles over 500 train arrivals and departures daily, averaging one train departure every six minutes. It breaks down and assembles more than 320 freight trains per day on average, with peak days exceeding 370 trains. This freight hub, honed over 70 years, demonstrates through its highly efficient operations the relentless efforts of railway workers in keeping the nation's economic "main artery" flowing smoothly.
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