Track boards for a high-speed railway linking Beijing and northeast China's Shenyang City have been implanted with electronic safety chips.
It is the first time the China-made "CRTS III Slab Ballastless Track" has been adopted for a high-speed rail route over 500 kilometers-long.
According to staff at Beijing-Shenyang Passenger Line Company, each track board is implanted with two chips, which store information including the board's model, serial number, mileage and curve radius.
If there is a problem with a track board, its chips notify the control center and indicate its problems and location, enhancing the safety of the rail system, said Li Zhaoqiang from China Railway Construction.
Laying of the 698-km track began September 17. With a designed speed of 350 km per hour, the railway is expected to start operation in 2019, slashing travel time between Beijing and Shenyang to 2.5 hours.