Through analyzing relevant policies and practices, this paper clarifies the characteristics and advantages of both undergraduate and higher vocational education and their complementarity within the educational system. A case study of the cooperation between Chang’an University and Shaanxi Railway Institute provides an empirical basis, showcasing collaborative achievements in resource sharing, curriculum alignment, teacher training, and student exchanges. The findings indicate that establishing an effective cooperative model can enhance the linkage and interaction between undergraduate and vocational education, achieving efficient integration and optimization of educational resources. This research proposes a framework for constructing an industry-education integration community, emphasizing the importance of government support, inter-college cooperation, curriculum innovation, and the enhancement of practical teaching components. The originality of this paper lies in its systematic approach to combining the strengths of undergraduate and vocational education to meet industrial development needs, offering a novel perspective on the construction of an industry-education integration community in the rail transportation engineering field. This study aims to explore the pathway for collaborative construction of an industry-education integration community between undergraduate and higher vocational education, promoting the integration of educational reform and industrial development, thus providing a reference for further educational reforms.