Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU), a national key university under the direct administration of the Ministry of Education, jointly supported by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport, Beijing Municipal Government, and China State Railway Group Co., Ltd, is an active contributor to the development of the "National 211 Project", the "985 Innovative Platforms for Key Disciplines Project" and the 'Double First-Class' construction.

As one of the three founding bodies of the Jiaotong University, the history of BJTU dates back to 1896. It originated as Railway Management Institute during the Qing dynasty, the first higher education institution in China committed to fostering railway management talents. It is the birthplace of modern China's railway management and telecommunication education. In 1917, it was divided into Beijing Railway Management School and Beijing Post and Telecommunication School. In 1921, the school merged with Shanghai Industrial College, and Tangshan Industrial College to form the original Jiaotong University. After the restructuring of Jiaotong University in 1923, the Beijing campus was renamed Beijing Jiaotong University. In 1950, the school was named Northern Jiaotong University with leading bridge expert and scholar Prof. Mao Yisheng as president. Former President of the PRC Mao Zedong gifted his personal autograph for the university name. In 1952, Northern Jiaotong University was canceled and the school was renamed Beijing Railway Institute. In 1970, the name Northern Jiaotong University was re-adopted. In 2000, the school merged with the Beijing Electric Power College, and the administration was transferred from the Ministry of Railways to the Ministry of Education. In 2003, the name Beijing Jiaotong University was resumed. Numerous renowned scholars and inventors in Chinese history received education in BJTU, including LIU Han, founder of China's first radio station; JIN Shixuan, author of China's first railway management monograph; XU Jing, pioneer of railway transport economics in China; YANG Rumei, one of the earliest four major accountants in China, and ZHENG Zhenduo, famous writer, literary critic, and historian. Notable academics who taught at the University include HSIANG Che-Chun, Prosecutor of the Tokyo Trial, and MA Yinchu, a famous demographer and economist in China.

BJTU has three campuses: the East and the West campuses, with a total area of nearly one thousand acres and building floorage of more than 1 million square meters in the renowned education district of Haidian, Beijing, and the Weihai international campus covering more than one thousand acres in Weihai, Shandong Province. All of the three campuses are equipped with complete teaching and research facilities and enjoy the beautiful scenery. In Huanghua, Hebei Province, the university has set up the Haibin Rail Transit Comprehensive Research and Development Base. In Beijing, Fengtai District, BJTU constructed the world-leading Fengtai Rail Transit 'Industry-Academia-Research-Application' Integrated Innovation Base. The Tangshan Research Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, established in Tangshan, Hebei Province, is dedicated to developing a demonstration zone for technology R&D, commercialization of scientific findings, and international education.

Over the past 120 years, the university has developed a comprehensive and coordinated education system with strength disciplines in information and management, characteristic disciplines in transportation, and other diversified disciplines such as engineering, management, economics, science, liberal arts, law, and philosophy. The university is home to 18 schools, including the School of Electronic and Information Engineering, School of Computer and Information Technology, School of Economics and Management, School of Traffic and Transportation, School of Civil Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electronic and Control Engineering, School of Electrical Engineering, School of Mathematics and Statistics, School of Physical Science and Engineering,  School of Foreign Languages and Mass Communication, School of Software Engineering, School of Marxism, School of Architecture and Design, Law School, School of Environment, School of Information Secret and Security Technology, Jeme Tienyow Emerging Technology College, Weihai International Campus.

The university boasts strong strength disciplines and has completed its first round of the 'Double First-Class' university development task – construction of the 'Smart Transportation' first-class discipline structure. BJTU's position in international rankings of world-leading universities and disciplines is steadily on the rise, maintaining its top 500 positions in the ARWU World Ranking. 15 disciplines have been qualified for the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (Shanghai Ranking); 14 disciplines have been selected for the U.S News Top-Ranked Global Universities by Subject; 9 have entered QS World University Rankings by Subject; 5 were nominated for the Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject. 26 disciplines entered the BCMR 2021 list (Shanghai Ranking), while BJTU's Transportation Engineering and System Science disciplines continue to crown the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. Engineering studies maintained a steady placing in the top 1% of ESI and 6 disciplines in total entered the top 1% list. The System Science discipline remained top 1 for four consecutive years in the National Discipline Evaluation; 5 disciplines were among the top 10% (Category A) in the fourth round of the evaluation, and 7 were among the top 20% (Category B+). The university has 17 Post-doc Research Centers, 1 Workstation, 21 Level-1 Discipline Doctoral Programs, and 3 Professional Doctoral Degree Programs. On the graduate level, BJTU is in charge of 32 Level-1 Discipline Master Programs, 2 Level-2 Discipline Master Programs, and 19 Professional Master Degree Programs.

The university always sees high-quality faculty development as the key to strengthening the school operation efficiency and has thusly adopted a 'talent cultivation' strategy. The university employs 3,151 staff, including 2,049 full-time teachers (1,504 with vice-senior or higher professional technical titles, and 1,959 with master's degrees or higher academic qualifications.). The university is home to 4 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Science, 10 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1 foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 5 National Renowned Teachers, 6 Members of the State Council Disciplinary Evaluation Committee, 53 selected teachers for various national major talent projects, 2 talents of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee's 'Four First Batch' project.

BJTU has always attached high importance to talent cultivation, the core of the university's operation and mission. The university carried out academic reform and construction with great results, raising innumerable talents for the country and the industry. Currently, the university has 16,888 undergraduate students, 2,763 doctoral students, 9,933 master's students, and 3,389 adult college students, with a total of 1,142 international exchange students. In the teaching achievement award evaluation for the late three years, BJTU has won 3 First Prizes, and 8 Second Prizes at the national level. During the last three Chinese Society of Academic Degrees and Graduate Education's Graduate Education Achievement Award evaluations, BJTU took away 1 First Prize and 2 Second Prizes. BJTU has 34 National Level First Class Program Development Sites, 11 National Level Characteristic Specialties, 7 National Level Comprehensive Reform Pilot Programs, and 8 National Level Outstanding Engineering Education Plan Majors, among which 12 were certified by the National Engineering Education Evaluation and 3 passed the National Civil Engineering Major Assessment. Additionally, the University has established 6 National Experimental Demonstration Centers, 3 National Centers of Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching, 3 National-Level Virtual Simulation Experiment Teaching Programs, 3 National University Student Extracurricular Practice Bases, 7 National Engineering Practical Education Centers, and 1 National Teaching Development and Demonstration Centre. The university's 3 Graduate Joint Education Bases were elected as 'National Engineering Degree Graduate Joint Education Demonstration Base'. BJTU offers 32 Nationally Certified First-Class Undergraduate Courses, 19 National Excellent Resource Sharing Courses, and 6 National Excellent Online Video Public Courses. The university has also won acclaim to its textbook development, with 4 chiefly-edited textbooks and 1 co-edited textbook being awarded in the first National Excellent Textbook Reward. One faculty member won the National Excellent Textbook Award for Advanced Individuals. The university's Computer Science Base was approved as the National-Level Fundamental Discipline Elite Student Cultivation Base, and the School of Software Engineering was approved as National Characteristic Model Software School. The university insists on creating synergy between its undergraduate and master programs, integration and fusion between disciplines, a close relationship between industry and university, and international connectivity. By implementing the 'Highland Project' and the 'Peak Project', the Zhan Tianyou Emerging Technology College was established, further exploring the 3+5 integrated undergraduate and master talent cultivation model to a fundamental discipline' outstanding student education base. The employment rate of BJTU undergraduate students remains around 95%, of those 56% continue to pursue higher academic degrees post-graduation, while the employment rate of post-graduate students is around 98%. BJTU was recognized by MOE as one of the first National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Example Universities, and Beijing Municipal Entrepreneurship and Innovation Educational Reform Demonstration University. The "Suite of Songs on the Long March" stage play and the original theatre play "Mao Yisheng" portrayed by BJTU Student Art Troupe was an innovative fusion of artistic expression and teaching that developed into an embodiment of the university patriotism education. BJTU also places great emphasis on the student's physical education, high level athletes' teams and common students' teams all earned great results in various competitions. In 2021, the university took home 2 national champion titles, 1 national second prize title, 4 national third prize titles, 15 municipal champion titles, 23 municipal second prize titles, and 18 municipal third prize titles.

BJTU has always targeted the frontier of scientific and technological development and the demands of major national strategies. It has actively participated in major historic events of China's rail transit development including the Major Railway Speed-up Project, the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the heavy-haul transportation of the Daqin Railway, maglev trains, the construction of the high-speed railway, and the independent research and development of core technologies regarding urban rail transit. The university has made significant scientific and technological achievements at the international leading level with fully independent intellectual property rights. BJTU has made a positive contribution to the development of various industries such as transportation, logistics, information engineering, new energy, etc. Reaping great benefits for Beijing's social and economic development, the university has become a major force for support and leadership of national, industrial, and regional scientific innovation development. BJTU boasts over 70 provincial and ministerial-level research platforms, including the State Key Lab of Rail Traffic Control & Safety, the Beijing Jiaotong University National Rail Transit Safety Assessment Research Center, the Smart High-speed Railway System Frontier Science Center, and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Rail Transit Safety. The university also oversees the 2 National Engineering Research Centres of Rail Transit Operation Control System and Mobile Private Network, as well as 2 National Base of International Science and Technology Cooperation, 8 Key Laboratories/Education and Engineering Research Centers of the Ministry of Education, 2 Key Laboratories of Traffic and Transportation Industry, 1 National Energy Research Centre, 3 Railway Industry Key Laboratories, 2 Beijing municipal laboratories, 17 Beijing Key Laboratories/Engineering Technology Research Centers, , 8 Oversea Expertise Introduction Centers, 1 of the first Capital Advanced Think-Tanks, 1 New Traffic and Transportation Think-Tank of the Ministry of Transport, 1 Beijing Municipal Research Center on Xi Jinping's New Age Socialism with Distinctive Chinese Characteristics Theories, 4 Beijing Municipal Research Bases of Philosophy and Social Sciences, 1 National and Regional Research Center of the Ministry of Education. BJTU holds annually the Advanced Forum on Transportation of China, the Lecture Hall of Jiaotong University, and the Capital Advanced Think-Tank Forum on Beijing Transportation Development. The university provides kilo mega internet coverage for both cable and wireless connections throughout the campus. Thorough application of innovative high technologies such as High-Performance Computing, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and 5G has supported and boosted the university's reform and development. Nowadays, the institution possesses teaching and research equipment of 1.4 billion Yuan. The university library stocks paperback monographs, electronic books, and online resources of nearly 15.55 million copies. BJTU established a characteristic database of transportation and traffic studies, as well as an Inspection and Research Work Station of Innovative Technologies of the Ministry of Education.

The university regards international cooperation and exchanges as an important way to improve education quality. Actively responding to the appeal of the "Belt and Road Initiative", BJTU has cooperated with 242 universities and renowned cross-national businesses from 51 countries. To promote Chinese culture and language teaching, the university has established 4 Confucius Institutes at KU Leuven in Belgium, Texas Southern University in the United States, the University of Campinas in Brazil, and Warsaw University of Technology in Poland. For the further improvement of academic influence and authority in the global railway sector, BJTU has joined international organizations and alliances such as UIC, OSJD, and China-CEEC Higher Education Institutions Consortium, and led the establishment of the China-ASEAN Rail Transit Education and Training Association and the UIC AUHSR. To enhance international research cooperation, the university also led the creation of the China-US, China-Russia, China-UK, and China-Indonesia High-speed Railway Research Centers. By making full use of the alumni association, the Beijing Jiaotong University Education Foundation, and the university board, BJTU has established 55 alumni organizations both at home and abroad, attracted 88 board member institutions, and set up strategic partnerships with industries, corporations, and local government in areas such as transport, logistics, information, and energy to carry out long-term, full-range cooperation in talent cultivation and scientific development. The Beijing Jiaotong University Education Foundation has been certified as a 4A charity group by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The university is guided by the words "Think of the source while drinking the water, love thy country, and honor the alma mater." Beijing Jiaotong University, adhering to the university motto of 'knowing and doing', is undertaking new missions and embracing a pioneering attitude to become a world-class university with distinctive characteristics.