Approved by the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee, the Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Urban Rail Transit was officially established in April 2013. The laboratory relies on the School of Rail Transit at Shenzhen University (School of Mechatronics and Control Engineering). The laboratory area is 1270 square meters, with more than 40 sets of scientific research instruments and equipment, and the fixed assets are about 12 million Yuan. The laboratory carries out basic and applied basic research around the research directions of rail transit vehicle traction and control, power system automation, detection, and operation safety technology, aiming to build a leading domestic and world-class urban rail transit equipment manufacturing, operation, and maintenance public technology service platform.

Senior engineer Zhao Penglin, deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen Municipal Government and director of the Railway Office, serves as the director of the academic committee of the key laboratory; Professor Xu Gang from the School of Mechatronics and Control Engineering and the School of Rail Transit, Shenzhen University serves as the director of the key laboratory; academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, famous railway electrification of Southwest Jiaotong University Professor Qian Qingquan, an automation expert, serves as the chief scientist. The laboratory has established a team covering transportation engineering, mechanical design and manufacturing, electronics and electrical, computer applications, control theory and control engineering, Opto-mechanical integration and other majors. The enterprising academic team with high academic level includes 20 scientific research personnel (18 fixed and 2 mobile), including 13 with senior professional titles, 16 with doctoral degrees, and an average age of 38.3 years. The laboratory currently undertakes 5 national-level scientific research projects, 6 provincial and ministerial-level projects, 8 municipal-level projects, and more than ten cooperation projects with enterprises, with scientific research funds exceeding 5 million Yuan. In addition, in recent years, 25 national, provincial, ministerial, municipal and other scientific research projects have been completed, and 14 patents and software copyrights have been obtained.

The main research directions are:

I. Rail transit vehicle traction and control technology

The main research areas are intelligent control technology for traction motor systems, regenerative braking energy utilization technology, system reliability testing and evaluation technology, etc.

II. Rail transit power system automation

Mainly research the key technologies of the linear motor urban rail transit system, harmonic analysis and treatment of the urban rail transit traction power supply system, joint simulation technology of urban rail transit train operation and power supply, etc.

III. Rail transit detection technology and operation safety

Mainly research key technologies and equipment of track inspection, urban rail vehicle structure and system fault diagnosis and prediction technology, virtual prototype and simulation technology in rail transit, rail transit network operation auxiliary decision-making technology, fatigue and damage of main components and key materials of rail vehicles, etc.