The hottest reason why Casco monopolizes China's s

Why does Casco monopolize China's subway signal engineering

the preliminary investigation results of the rear end collision accident of Shanghai Metro Line 10 on September 27 will be locked in human operation errors, basically eliminating the direct link between the accident and signal failure, but Casco signal Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Casco), the signal equipment supplier of Metro Line 10, has not been forgotten, This company, which claims to occupy half of China's subway signal market, is famous for a series of signal failures

the survey found that Casco has a strong enterprise color in the system since its establishment. It has been operating the signal system in the construction of domestic rail transit for 26 years, so that most of the subway projects that have been built and under construction in China today have their presence. Behind the monopoly is not only the high threshold of related technology, but also the macro background of the great leap forward of China's subway construction

localization operation

Casco, the first Sino foreign joint venture company in China's railway system, was established in 1986 with the joint investment of China Railway Communication and signaling group (hereinafter referred to as CSSC group) and ALSTOM (China) Investment Co., Ltd. the registered capital is 100million yuan, and the two shareholders each account for 50% of the shares

according to people familiar with the matter, the original intention of the joint venture between China Communications Group and France was to learn from foreign advanced railway software systems, in which signal was the focus, but at that time, no one expected that China's rail transit would have the development of today's scale in the future, especially the rise of urban rail transit

Casco did not do much at the beginning of its establishment. Until 1994, Casco and ALSTOM, the then foreign parent company, won the contract for the signal system ATC (automatic train control system) of Shanghai Metro Line 1. This was the first fixed block Metro Signal System with automatic train operation (ATO) function in China at that time

since then, in 1996, Casco's Chinese parent company, China Communications Group, won the ATC system general integration contract for Tehran Metro Lines 1 and 2, Iran, and handed over the ATS (automatic train monitoring system) project contract for the two metro lines to Casco

while Casco continues to obtain projects from its parent company, great changes are also brewing in China's rail transit. In 1997 and 1998, China's railways made their first major speed increase, and the Beijing Guangzhou and Beijing Shanghai railways were fully electrified. China's major railway lines are gradually leaving the manual operation mode, and the demand for automation is rising

in 1999 and 2001, the general office of the State Council forwarded the implementation opinions on the localization of urban rail transit equipment (GBF [1999] No. 20) and the implementation plan on the localization of urban rail transit equipment (Jcy [1999] No. 428 and Jcy [2001] No. 564) of the former State Planning Commission, proposing to ensure that the average localization rate of urban rail transit vehicles and electromechanical equipment is not less than 70%

at that time, there were only a few domestic enterprises engaged in railway automation, and Casco was a leader in the industry. According to the information provided by Casco, the implementation of Shanghai Metro Line 1 and Tehran project in Iran has enabled Casco to master the core technology of railway signal system

public information shows that up to now, 28 metro projects have been built and under construction in China using Casco signal system, of which 20 are concentrated in Beijing and Shanghai, including Beijing Metro Line 9 and Fangshan Line under construction

in Shanghai, where its headquarters is located, Casco has contracted the signal system of metro lines 1 and 10. In addition to Beijing and Shanghai, Casco's signal system also involves subway lines in Dalian, Changchun, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tehran and other cities

Shanghai test

a document named "Casco Metro signal system localization report" (hereinafter referred to as "Casco report") shows that Casco has locked its technological start-up and localization in Shanghai Metro Line 1 and Tehran Metro in Iran

Casco report said that through the project in Shanghai, the company trained and trained a team of Metro engineers and managers who are familiar with the Metro signal system, and the project construction in Tehran has become a breakthrough for Casco to take ATS as the localization of Metro Signal Technology

as the capital of Casco, Shanghai is the main cause of the foam. Public information shows that the signal systems of Shanghai lines 1, 3, 4, 10 and the second phase of the Pearl line have signed corresponding contracts with Casco. Although there are many signal failures in the built projects, the Metro Line 1 once collided on the side of the two trains in December 2009 due to the wrong speed code of the signal system

an insider told that although Casco's signal system is not perfect and faults occur frequently, this has not affected its expansion in the country. Before the Wenzhou accident, few people cared about the problem of railway signal. In the eyes of outsiders, this is a simple technology, but in fact it is very complex

since the end of the last century, China's railways have repeatedly increased speed, and the national railway electrification transformation has continued until now. In recent years, the construction of bullet trains, high-speed railways and subways has provided Casco with a broad market space

data shows that after 2000, Casco's performance has always maintained an average annual growth rate of about 30%. Thanks to the great development of urban rail transit, Metro related market contracts of Casco accounted for half of the company's total market contracts in 2006

unshakable monopoly

it is understood that Casco's technological progress is accompanied by its monopoly in China's rail transit sector, especially in urban rail transit such as subway and light rail

when the first subway signal construction contract was obtained in 1994, Casco's proportion in the contract amount was less than 10%, while in 2006, when the Beijing airport line was constructed, its proportion increased to 45%

although Casco's signal technology has been controversial after the Wenzhou accident, the retrograde of Shanghai line 10 in July, and the rear end collision, Casco's leading position in the domestic industry has been difficult to shake. In the view of the industry, Casco not only started early, but also its inextricable connection with the railway system is one of the important factors for it to gradually become an industry giant

however, in the view of many industry insiders interviewed, Casco's success is mainly due to the joint business model under its parent company system, in which Beijing National Railway Communication and signal research and Design Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Casco") which is wholly controlled by China Communications Group plays an irreplaceable role

an insider who had a cooperative relationship with Casco described to him that Casco's business monopoly largely depends on the coordination of the communication and signaling Institute. This semi enterprise and semi enterprise institution has gathered a large number of domestic experts in track design and is the most authoritative track research institution in China. Therefore, the Institute has a considerable say in the design and construction of rail transit nationwide

although subway signals all over the country go through the bidding process, Casco has an advantage because of its kinship with China Communications Academy. With the design of China Communications academy, Casco's products and the integration project of China Communications Group, most links can be completed in one system. The above-mentioned person told that at present, Casco's signal system has formed a monopoly in China, and the coverage rate should exceed 60%

he said that as the leading rail transit construction integrator in China, China Communications Group, from an economic point of view, choosing its own products will naturally save a lot of costs, and the integration effect will be better, which meets the requirements of local governments. In addition, the national requirements for localization also make Casco, a joint venture, more popular

although the Wenzhou bullet train accident has been criticized by the China Communications academy, the national railway system has been required to investigate and rectify the products designed and developed by the Academy in the tens of thousands of kilometers of high-speed railway and urban rail transit involved. But so far, there is no sign that the status of the communication and signaling Institute and Casco in China's rail transit construction has been significantly affected

Technical Barriers behind the great leap forward

after the Shanghai subway collision, many local subway departments have said that the local subway signal system is not from CASS. The extensometer made of this kind of structure can measure 10 minute small deformation Ke with high precision, so as to eliminate public concerns. Insiders said that Casco's system is not the best in the industry, but it is relatively cost-effective and is the choice for comprehensive comparison

however, according to Zhao Jian, a professor at the school of transportation, Beijing Jiaotong University, the current situation of the mixed collection of various systems in subway construction also reflects the confusion of management

he told that the construction and management of urban rail transit should be operated by local construction departments, but in fact, the railway department does a lot of things. At present, some places use Siemens' signal systems, and some use French signal systems. There are often several suppliers' signal systems on the same railway. The final integration and coordination become very important to integrate these concepts into one. Zhao Jian said that local bidding also considers the cost performance of goods, but the evaluation criteria of cost performance are still difficult to unify

in fact, apart from the subjective reasons of Casco's parent company, the high speed of China's rail transit construction cannot be ignored

it is understood that according to the planning statistics of various regions, during the 12th Five Year Plan period, the planned mileage of subway and light rail lines in cities across the country will reach 2600 kilometers, and the planned amount of construction investment will reach 1.27 trillion yuan. Jiaotongshan, vice president of the China Communications and Transportation Association, told the media that by 2020, 40 cities in China will have built urban rail transit systems, with a total mileage of 7000 kilometers

the history of large-scale railway construction in China is not long. In the past, the railway system technology was monopolized by a small number of state-owned enterprises, resulting in the lack of technology research and development and private enterprises. The short-term and rapid construction did not give sufficient R & D and design time to emerging enterprises, while foreign advanced enterprises generally have at least 20 years of technology accumulation. Therefore, it is inevitable that there are a large number of railway system enterprises involved in China's subway construction

however, since then, China's subway construction has continued the tradition. Due to the close connection between the two systems of railway and subway in terms of information system and construction engineering, and the requirements of professional construction, most of the early subway projects in China are operated by enterprises subordinate to the Ministry of railways

industry experts said that the high threshold of subway construction also provided Casco with monopoly conditions. Due to the short history of large-scale construction in China and the large number of enterprises in the original railway system, the fact that a large number of railway enterprises participated in subway construction is beyond doubt

an engineer who used to be engaged in the construction of electrified railways and now plans subway construction in many cities in the south said to Xiang that China's railway construction has always emphasized the localization of technology, including the bullet trains and high-speed trains that were rapidly built in the past two years. Although our technology was introduced at the beginning, the speed of localization is also very fast, and safety is also considered. This safety is the safety of the whole rail transit

in the view of the above engineers, the railway construction has always been dominated by state-owned enterprises. After the construction of electrified railway, the development of railway signal technology still continues the tradition of state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises have been unable to get involved due to high technical requirements