Driving into Beijing's Core Urban Area! WeRide Robotaxi Approved for Testing at Beijing South Railway Station

Recently, the Beijing High-Level Autonomous Driving Office announced the testing roads and areas for autonomous vehicles within the Policy Pilot Zone, specifying the range from the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) to Beijing South Railway Station. WeRide is among the first group of companies approved to conduct autonomous driving tests within this range. This initiative marks Beijing's first autonomous driving test at a high-speed railway station and the first test connecting the BDA with a high-speed railway station in the city's core urban area. (WeRide Robotaxi at Beijing South Railway Station)

Beijing South Railway Station integrates five modes of transportation: railways, subways, urban railways, buses, and taxis. It covers multiple transportation hub cities, has a high daily passenger flow, and features smart parking, making it well-suited for the deployment of autonomous driving. After comprehensive consideration by multiple management units, two autonomous driving test routes were established, with bidirectional travel distances of 32 kilometers and 58.6 kilometers, respectively.

These routes pass through Boda Road - South Fourth Ring Road - Majiabao West Road, South Fifth Ring Road - Jingkai Expressway - South Third Ring Road and its auxiliary road, reaching Beijing South Railway Station via Kaiyang Road. A 2.2 square kilometer test support area was designated around the station, and dedicated parking spaces for autonomous vehicles were arranged in the multi-story parking garage at Beijing South Railway Station. (Overview of the autonomous driving test roads and surrounding test areas from Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area to Beijing South Railway Station. image source: Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area official website)

Approved to conduct autonomous driving tests between the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area and Beijing South Railway Station, WeRide's Robotaxi officially enters Beijing's core urban area, laying a solid foundation for further expanding its commercial deployment scenarios and scope. (Beijing South Railway Station parking garage equipped with autonomous driving connection points)

Additionally, as the technology company with the most comprehensive range of autonomous driving products and application scenarios in Beijing, WeRide has achieved a series of breakthroughs in the past year. Besides being approved to conduct commercial pilot services for fully driverless vehicles and highway scenario demonstrations, WeRide has launched Beijing's first Level 4 driverless sanitation project. The company also introduced Level 4 Robobus services, connecting the three major cultural building complexes of Beijing's sub-center with the adjacent subway stations.

Beijing plans to gradually open autonomous driving application scenarios at five major railway hub stations: Beijing South Railway Station, Fengtai Railway Station, Chaoyang Railway Station, Qinghe Railway Station, and the Beijing Sub-center Railway Station, as well as at Daxing International Airport and Capital International Airport. WeRide will actively participate in these initiatives, gradually providing more Beijing residents and travelers with comfortable, efficient, convenient, and safe autonomous driving travel options.