TECH – China has unveiled a groundbreaking experiment in rail freight logistics, testing what some are calling the world’s first wirelessly linked rail freight convoy that could transform how heavy goods move across the country. During a trial on the Baoshen Railway in Inner Mongolia, seven individual freight trains were run as one coordinated unit — without any physical couplers — carrying a combined 38,580 US tons (about 35,000 tonnes) of cargo, which state outlets highlighted is more than “three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.”
Rather than relying on traditional mechanical connections, the innovation uses a virtual coupling system that synchronises speed, braking and spacing through continuous wireless communication. This allows the trains to travel much closer together than usual safety protocols permit, effectively functioning like a single long freight train but without the physical links that normally hold cars together. According to Chinese state media, the system can potentially slash the braking distance needed between heavy freight units — a key limitation in conventional rail logistics — by instantly adjusting relative motion among the linked convoys in real time.
The control system was developed by the state-owned China Shenhua Energy Company alongside other domestic partners, with the goal of dramatically boosting freight capacity without laying new tracks — a costly and time-consuming task. Instead, the system’s wireless synchronisation could allow more trains to operate safely on existing infrastructure, effectively increasing throughput by more than 50 percent on busy corridors.
Read More: China Tests Portable Quantum Radio for Battlefield Communication
Each of the seven trains in the test carried roughly 5,512 US tons (5,000 tonnes) and moved with precision across the trial section under the newly tested system. By maintaining tight formation control, researchers say the convoy demonstrated that digital rail control — once limited to theoretical papers — is now feasible at heavy-haul scale. Early versions of the technology were tested on lighter convoys earlier in the year, but this latest run represents a milestone in sheer mass and industrial relevance.
China’s railway freight sector is already massive — national railways hauled billions of tonnes of cargo in recent years — and this wireless innovation could fit into broader efforts to expand capacity without costly physical expansions. By making existing lines more efficient, Beijing hopes to support growing cargo volumes both domestically and along international corridors such as the China-Europe freight network.
If successfully deployed at scale, the wireless convoy concept may mark a strategic evolution in heavy rail freight — one that blends digital command and control with physical logistics for a more agile and powerful transport system.
