Abstract: Objective Many design concepts in urban rail transit originate from the railway transportation sector; however, some of them conflict with the specific management requirements of urban rail transit. Additionally, the safety design in urban rail transit is typically carried out independently by each discipline, lacking overall coordination, which often leads to inconsistencies between design and management requirements. To explore and establish an intrinsic safety system suited to the characteristics of urban rail transit, it is necessary to conduct research on the system structure and safety design concepts of urban rail transit. Method The characteristic differences between urban rail transit and railway transportation are analyzed to identify the limitations of traditional safety design theories. On this basis, the core objectives and intrinsic safety requirements for urban rail transit safety design are proposed. Result ＆ Conclusion Safety design for urban rail transit must be approached from a holistic perspective, with passenger safety as the primary goal. The design should be approached from perspectives such as increasing technical proportion, enhancing technical awareness, adhering to the First Principle, ensuring appropriate redundancy, implementing safety interlocking mechanisms, improving emergency response capabilities, and strengthening the coordinated development between personnel and systems.