Established in 1956, Xi’an Railway Vocational & Technical Institute is a full-time general higher vocational college sponsored by Xi’an Municipal People’s Government. It is an exemplary vocational college in Shaanxi Province, a national high-quality vocational college construction unit, and a first-class vocational college construction unit in Shaanxi Province.

The Institute is located in Xi’an International Trade & Logistics Park. It has three campuses: the Logistics Park Campus (headquarters), the Ziqiang Campus and the Lintong Campus. It covers an area of more than 700 mu with a floor area of 330,000 square meters and a fixed asset of one billion yuan.

With the 60 years’ experience in running the railway transportation industry, the Institute has developed a number of majors and specialty groups, mainly covering the railway transportation and urban railway transportation industries as the key majors, supplemented by the related majors of electric power technology, civil architecture, equipment manufacturing and electronic information. In 2009, the Institute passed the Evaluation of Personnel Training Assessment of the Ministry of Education, and in 2014 it became the excellent exemplary higher vocational college of Shaanxi Province.

As a nationwide institute, it has more than 12,000 full-time students. At present, there are 10 departments of faculty, including the School of Transportation, the School of Electronic Information, the School of Electrical Engineering, the School of Traction Power, the School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, the School of Civil Engineering as well as Basic Department, Department of Ideological and Political Education, school of International Transportation (China-Russian cooperative school-running institution) and Continuing Education College, which totally offer 37 higher vocational majors. There are six provincial comprehensive reform and construction projects and nine provincial key specialties, four provincial demonstration training bases, two training bases supported by the central finance, and one capacity building project for the development of professional service industry supported by the central finance.

There are now more than 680 staff, and of the full-time teachers, 202 possess master's or doctor’s degrees, over 170 professors and associate professors, and 270 double-professional teachers. At present, there is one outstanding contribution expert enjoying special allowance from the State Council, one national excellent teacher, four famous common college teachers of Shaanxi Province, eleven vice chairmen or members of the National Industry Steering Committee. In addition, there are more than 200 professional and technical personnel engaged from Xi'an Railway Bureau and other enterprises as part-time teachers.

Focusing on the rail transit industry, the Institute takes school-enterprise cooperation and work-study combination as the breakthrough point, implements the “2+1” talent training mode of order training and work-study alternation (2 years of basic theory study + 1 year post practice), and forms a practical teaching system with the characteristics of railway transportation specialty. There are 105 campus training bases, including the urban track and locomotive and rolling stock, and 98 off-campus practice bases in enterprises. It is one of the earliest institutions to implement the vocational qualification certificate system in China. The rate of obtaining “double certificates” for graduates has reached over 80%. More than 200 provincial, ministerial and even higher prizes have been awarded to the students participating in the National Vocational College Skills Competition and other professional skills competitions.

The Institute has been awarded the “National Advanced Vocational and Technical Education Unit” by the Five Ministries and “Civilized Campus” and “Peaceful Campus” by the CPC Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government.

The Institute is the Standing Director unit of the Chinese Society of Vocational and Technical Education, the Vice Director unit of the Chinese Society of Vocational and Technical Education Rail Transit Professional Committee, the Vice Chairman unit of Shaanxi Railway Society and the Secretary-General unit of National Railway Worker Higher Education Research Association.

In recent years, the Institute has responded positively to the Belt and Road Initiative and steadily promoted the international exchanges and cooperation. Up to now, it has cooperated with Russia, Thailand, Kenya, Pakistan and other countries in cooperating schools running, running schools abroad, providing educational assistance to foreign countries and training foreign students in China. At the same time, relying on various international alliance organizations, it has actively explored cooperation and exchanges with more countries.

In the new historical development stage, guided by the construction of a modern vocational education system, the Institute will accelerate the pace of education and teaching reform, improve the personnel training system, constantly improve the level of running school, to build a “distinctive, exemplary within the province, industry-leading, domestic first-class” Higher Vocational Institute.