CNPC's unit eyes rail bearing lubrication technology

CNPC Lubricant Co, the supplier of lubricating oil of China's Fuxing high-speed trains and a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, said it will establish a joint laboratory to develop technology of high-speed rail bearing lubrication with Beijing Jiaotong University to further enhance its ability on innovation.

After gaining the core technology to produce lubricating oil that can be used in the gear box of high-speed trains for more than two years, Xiao Hongwei, general manager of the CNPC Lubricant, said the product is not only the first to pass 600,000 kilometers of operational testing, but also the first domestic made products to supply the country's high-speed train network.

Fuxing, also known as "Rejuvenation", represents China's self-developed new-generation bullet trains. They are capable of running at speeds of 350 km per hour on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line. When the feat was achieved in 2017, Fuxing became the world's fastest operational train service.

Even though the technology has long been blocked by developed countries, Xiao said the company will deploy more resources into the next generation products to better assist bullet trains to adapt China's vast territory, geographical environment and climate complexity from long-term perspective.