Research on the establishment and operation mechanism of China’s railway safety management system

Abstract

Purpose-Against the backdrop of rising railway network density and operational complexity in China, the traditional reactive safety management paradigm fails to meet full-lifecycle safety control demands, and the current model suffers from poor institutional coherence, low coordination efficiency and inadequate control precision. This study explores the inherent logic and operational mechanism of railway safety management, constructs a well-structured safety management framework and dynamic operational model and provides theoretical and practical support for modernizing China’s railway safety governance capacity to address safety challenges in high-density, high-speed and heavy-haul railway operations.

Design/methodology/approach-A systematic review and research integration approach is adopted. Theoretical advances and practical applications of railway safety management systems in the EU, the USA and Japan, as well as mature practices in China’s civil aviation, power, petrochemical and coal mining industries, are systematically analyzed. Based on China’s railway safety management practices and industrial characteristics, a “1 þ 3þ1” hierarchical three-dimensional core framework is constructed. Drawing on PDCA cycle theory, a SERA dynamic operational model is developed. Key digital technologies supporting the framework and model are identified via focused analysis of railway safety management digital transformation.

Findings-The findings indicate that integrating general international safety management concepts, foreign railway professional practices and domestic localization experiences is pivotal to constructing a railway safety management system tailored to the Chinese context. The “1þ3þ1” framework comprises legal-institutional and organizational responsibility systems as its strategic foundation, three core execution systems-prevention and control, emergency response and disposal, and assessment and improvement-as its operational pillars, and technological and cultural support systems as its enabling underpinning. This architecture enables full-element coverage, full-process integration and comprehensive coordination of railway safety management. The SERA dynamic functioning model achieves closed-loop iteration through the cycle of “Systematize and Support→Execute and Enforce→Respond and Recover→Assess and Advance”. Integration of key digital technologies-including multi-source data fusion and intelligent risk alerting-enables efficient functioning of the framework and model. This integrated approach effectively addresses fragmentation and inadequate coordination in traditional railway safety management, thereby driving transformation from experience-driven to data-driven paradigms, from static control to dynamic optimization, and from passive response to proactive prevention.

Originality/value-First, this study transcends traditional fragmented safety management paradigms, constructing a railway safety management framework spanning the full lifecycle, all factors and full processes, thereby transforming railway safety management from scattered measures to systematic, goal-oriented endeavors. Second, it integrates general international safety management principles with Chinese railway contextual attributes, establishing the SERA dynamic functioning model with global interoperability and local adaptability, thereby achieving closed-loop connectivity from strategic design to operational implementation. Third, it comprehensively delineates key digital technologies for the digital transformation of China’s railway safety management system, thereby providing technical solutions for precision and intelligentization in complex operational scenarios. Fourth, these findings enhance systematic rigor and methodological soundness in China’s railway safety governance, while furnishing a replicable model for safety management of other complex transportation infrastructure-including highways and urban rail transit. This lays the foundation for a railway safety management paradigm that harmonizes Chinese characteristics with global interoperability, thereby contributing Chinese experience to global railway safety management.

Keywords

China’s railways / Safety management system / Management system framework / SERA model / Digitalization / Operation mechanism

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