The Key Laboratory of Track Traffic Safety, Ministry of Education was approved for establishment in 2003 and passed the acceptance inspection in 2005. It underwent regular evaluations by the Ministry of Education in 2012 and 2018 respectively, achieving an "Excellent" rating on both occasions.

World-Class Scientific Experimental Capabilities: The laboratory has independently developed and built a world-leading dynamic model test system for aerodynamic characteristics of wheel-rail and maglev trains at 500-800 km/h, the first of its kind in China, as well as the gale monitoring, early warning and train operation command system which is one of the key projects of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the world’s only full-scale rail vehicle crash and force measurement test system. These are recognized by international authoritative institutions with globally accredited qualifications. It pioneered the experimental system for epidemic prevention and control in train passenger compartments, and put forward major proposals for COVID-19 prevention and control inside train carriages, which have been adopted.

Original Core Technological Strength in the Industry: It has completed the aerodynamic shape design for 39 types of streamlined trains currently in operation, including China’s first high-speed train; it has undertaken the aerodynamic structural design and evaluation of typical high-speed railway tunnels in China such as Shanghai-Kunming, Lanzhou-Urumqi and Datong-Xi’an High-Speed Railways, enabling trains to pass through tunnels at 350 km/h without speed reduction; it established a technical system for train operation safety under gale conditions, solving the operational challenges of high-speed, high-altitude and cold railways in the world’s most wind-disaster-prone areas; it has completed crashworthiness tests for all rail vehicles and high-speed EMU components in China, and without such tests and evaluations, exported trains cannot be put into operation in destination countries.

Supporting Capacity for Major National Projects: It has completed the aerodynamic and crashworthiness design and evaluation for high-speed trains including the "Fuxing" series; it has completed the aerodynamic structural design and optimization of all typical high-speed railway tunnels such as Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, helping China win the bid for the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia; it conducted the aerodynamic design of the three-dimensional wind protection system for the Lanzhou-Urumqi High-Speed Railway, and after its opening to traffic, the original wind-induced suspension period of 5560 hours has been reduced to only 16 hours. It has formulated 13 industry standards that fill domestic gaps.

It has won 8 national science and technology awards, including 1 National Science and Technology Progress Award (Innovation Team Award), 2 Second-Class National Science and Technology Progress Awards and 1 Second-Class National Technological Invention Award as the leading unit, and 3 Special-Class Awards and 1 First-Class Award as a participant; it has also won 2 China Gold Patent Awards as the leading unit. Central South University has become an important scientific and technological force supporting China’s high-speed railway development from following and parallel running to leading the world, serving the Belt and Road Initiative and the field of civil-military integration.