Adrien Oger Peulvast: On the Right Track in China —A French Railway Signal Expert’s Story

My first encounter with Professor Adrian Oger Peulvast was at the 2023 Xi'an Hard Global Key & Core Technology Conference. Two years earlier, he had just established his company, Silkrail in Nanjing. "Low-key" and "pragmatic" were my first impressions of him. The next time I saw Adrian was during the 2026 May Day holiday. During this break, he not only traveled to Beijing with his family but also brought two distinguished guests—fellows of the European Academy of Engineering, Walter and Olivier. With the holiday rush, tickets to Beijing's major attractions were extremely hard to come by. Yet Adrian and his wife, Zhang Yu, personally took care of every detail, from the itinerary to ticket reservations, leaving nothing amiss. This was done to give the experts a genuine glimpse into China, helping them understand its culture and experience its development. In fact, such meticulously curated "cultural introductions" are something the Peulvasts have quietly facilitated many times before.

Deeply rooted in the railway signaling industry

Adrian has spent over 20 years in the field of railway signaling. Going back to his student days, he had a strong interest and passion for robotics and process automation, and explored many different directions in this field. Later, Adrian joined General Electric (GE), where the work aligned perfectly with his interests—dealing with long-chain, complex systems built on computer science and rigorous processes—and this became his lifelong career. This dedication supported him all the way from being a professional engineer, to becoming Chief Architect at GE, and then a top expert in European railway standard systems.

Adrian's early career had a distinctly international character. One of the first major projects he worked on was the UK's only fully operational high-speed line to date, High Speed 1 (also known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link - CTRL). Serving as a crucial corridor between Britain and mainland Europe, the CTRL utilized French signaling technology and involved collaboration among many international teams. Because of its great complexity and technical challenges, rigorous process protocols had to be followed to build consensus and drive the project forward within the multinational cooperation. Even today, after 20 years of safe operation, Adrian still speaks enthusiastically about the project, which remains an industry benchmark.

This experience also sharpened his sensitivity to industry standards and kept him engaged in their development. In 2015, Adrian was admitted as one of the youngest-ever members of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE). "I was deeply involved in the implementation of these standards in Sweden and Spain. I saw firsthand how we could distill frontline practical experience into standards, leveraged them to deliver high-quality projects, and subsequently rolled them out across the globe."

In early 2009, Adrian was among the first group of foreign experts invited to participate in China's high-speed railway construction. He came to China to assist with system integration testing, safety assessment, and on-site testing prior to the opening of the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan High-Speed Railway. This line, with a total length of 189.93 kilometers and a design speed of 250 kilometers per hour, was China's first passenger-dedicated high-speed railway to break ground and remains a unique mountainous high-speed railway in the country. Since then, Adrian has taken part in many high-speed rail projects across China, witnessing the very beginning of the country's high-speed rail development and forging a lasting bond with China.

After coming to China, Adrien witnessed the even broader potential of the railway industry. He spoke highly of China's high-speed railway system, expressing admiration for the country's achievement in developing a vast network that reaches 97% of cities with more than half a million urban residents. With an operating speed of 350 kilometers per hour, it ranks among the world's fastest and most advanced. "The construction model, largely based on viaducts, is highly efficient. It is something that does not exist in Europe—it's really a great achievement. To deploy such a massive network in such a short time is amazing. Moreover, travelling by high-speed rail in China is convenient, comfortable, and is punctual," he said, his usually calm demeanor showing a hint of excitement.

Adrien is well-versed in global railway signaling technologies and safety standards, holding multiple internationally recognized certifications including NOBO, DEBO, AsBO, and ISA. Besides his role as founder and the chief Technology Officer of Silkrail, he also collaborates with the French company Certifer, where he holds the position of Lead Assessor. Adrien pointed out that Chinese Train Control System (CTCS) and the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) share certain similarities in technical specifications-both can support large-scale operational networks. In Europe, the core value of unified standards is cross-border interoperability, allowing trains to travel seamlessly between different countries using a single system. China's context does not involve cross-border interoperability, but unified standards have supported the rapid deployment of a massive, nationwide ultra-large railway network, with all lines following the same technical rules and standards. The advantage here is obvious: when building any new line in China, you know exactly what standards to follow and what is required, so project efficiency is very high. "Even when collaborating with teams from different regions in China, everyone uses the same technical language, so communication costs are low. This is a very good model," Adrien praised.

Notably, Adrien mentioned that China's railway network, now the largest globally, presents immense difficulties for long-term stable operation, and that traditional maintenance costs remain high. "Precisely because the network is so large, China needs to shift from traditional maintenance to intelligent maintenance, using advanced technologies to operate and maintain the network-reducing costs while improving efficiency. Both in Europe and China, maintenance costs remain high, and I believe there is significant room for improvement. This is exactly the direction of solutions our company aims to focus on-to further enhance network maintenance efficiency in the future."

Balancing career and life in China is the ideal state 

When talking about the company that Adrien and his wife Zhang Yu co-founded, they clearly became more animated. The company's name itself carries their shared aspirations and their wish to build a bridge between China and Europe. Silkrail is the English name Adrien chose; the original idea came from the Belt and Road Initiative. Adrien said, "The Belt and Road has three overland corridors, one of which is the China-Europe railway corridor, running between China and Europe. This name embodies our hope for a passage between the two regions: trains setting out from China to Europe must adapt to the rules of various countries along the way, to ensure a safe arrival in Europe." Zhang Yu chose the Chinese name "an sai ou", which roughly means "safety surpassing European standards"—reflecting their hope that technology from China could soon be introduced to European market.

Starting a business in China was no small decision. "In 2020, the world was going through a difficult period. We had to make a choice: either move to another country, return to France, or stay in China," Adrien said. "We ultimately chose to stay because Nanjing authorities gave us strong support, and at the same time, our long-standing clients proactively reached out with collaboration offers. All this support made us decide to launch our business here." After establishing their company, the couple found that Nanjing offered a favorable environment for talent development. Zhang Yu noted, "Nanjing not only offers favorable talent policies, but also boasts an excellent living environment. The city has extensive greenery, good air quality, a pleasant living environment, and convenient transport. Taking all factors together, we chose to settle in Nanjing."

Adrien added, "From a career development standpoint, Nanjing is a key domestic railway hub, with four major trunk lines running in all directions and a vibrant rail transit industry. There is more room for R&D and project implementation here than in France. In the long run, sectors like AI, robotics, and next-generation rail transit systems all have broad prospects in China. Being able to balance career and life in China is the ideal scenario."

Although Silkrail is not a large company, it maintains a consistently high level of professionalism in solving client problems, focusing on integrating AI, big data, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), and intelligent simulation technologies into the testing and maintenance of rail transit signaling systems. Its AI-based railway signaling software project achieved a test acceleration from 30 days (manual) to 7 days (automated).

This project originated from the idea of fully automating the entire railway inspection process. Zhang Yu shared, "During the day, the client explained their business needs to us; at night, we iteratively developed the solution. The client showed us various issues with their existing system and their requirements for automated inspection upgrades. At that time, there was no professional interpreter on-site; all data and technical materials were in Chinese, and I simultaneously translated everything for Adrien. We barely slept during those days. A week later, we produced a working prototype tool. The client was very satisfied and confirmed that we had the capability to deliver. We then signed a cooperation contract and leveraging our dual background in rail transit and computer technology, we developed various functional modules step by step, iterating the software to completion. Currently, this software is undergoing validation trials on multiple railway lines. The system supports 24/7 automated rapid testing—just start the program and all test processes run automatically." Zhang Yu recalled the days and nights she and Adrien had worked together, as if they were yesterday. This cross-border couple—one with exceptional technical talent, the other with sharp business acumen—advanced side by side, opening up a market for Silkrail in the railway signaling sector.

Adrien said that team size is not really the key factor; what matters is having strong technical capabilities and standardized operational processes. "With these foundations in place, we can collaborate smoothly with various stakeholders to drive projects forward because we share a common technical language. The foundation of a company like ours lies in a combination of solid technical expertise and flexibility. As a small enterprise, we can quickly adapt to the requirements of different countries, regions, and technical teams, and we can easily tailor our products and solutions to different clients."

Adrien has always maintained a forward-looking sensitivity to industry trends. As early as ten years ago, he had already recognized the potential of AI applications in the railway signaling sector and directed his team to systematically acquire the necessary knowledge and expertise. Today, the implementation of AI has become a key driver for industry progress, and the intelligent upgrading of railway signaling systems is an unstoppable trend. At the same time, the industry landscape is undergoing profound shifts; Chinese railway signaling systems are becoming increasingly internationalized and are actively contributing to the formulation of global standards. As an industry expert, Adrien actively promotes the standardization of data formats within the railway signaling sector and facilitates cross-border data sharing, thereby laying a solid foundation for the advancement of international cooperation.

Building bridges between China and France through technology

In April 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron paid his third visit to China. Adrien was invited to attend related events. During the meetings, Adrien spoke about his entrepreneurial experience in China, with particular emphasis on China's advanced infrastructure, including its metro systems. In recent years, Adrien has dedicated himself to promoting the internationalization of Chinese railway standards, aiming to bring Chinese smart manufacturing products and technologies to the global stage; simultaneously, he has actively invited European experts to China, hoping they will come to understand and fall in love with China, and choose to stay.

Zhang Yu has also played an important role in this process. The idea of promoting Sino-French exchange took root more than 20 years ago when she went to study in France. At that time, she stayed with a middle-class French family and taught Chinese and English to their children. The retired elderly family member would read newspapers about China, though there were many negative media reports at that time. Zhang Yu told him, "You should go to China and see for yourself. China is developing very fast. Sometimes media reports are not objective." Later, he found a book written by a French author, called Quand la Chine se réveille, which was quite famous at the time. He said, "China will surely rise." In the years that followed, he kept following China's development and often remarked on how fast it really was.

Adrien and his wife not only established a business in China but also aspired to contribute to friendly exchanges between China and the rest of the world. Drawing on his years of accumulated professional experience in Europe, Adrien invited many experts in relevant fields to visit China. These visits often became the initial sparks of international technical cooperation, allowing foreign experts to enter China with curiosity and anticipation—to understand China, fall in love with China, and choose to partner with their Chinese counterparts.

"I am very proud to contribute to the cause of Sino-French cooperation. What we do looks beyond the present; we are focused on the next generation and the long-term future." Adrien stated firmly.

Source：INTERNATIONAL TALENT