High-speed career puts contribution on fast track
Editor’s note: This news column showcases stories from around the world that bring a touch of positivity to the fight against the deadly coronavirus.
A Chinese-British construction executive has been featured in a national exhibition to celebrate the vital role played by Britain’s rail and infrastructure workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lin Qi, a 26-year-old assistant project manager, is one of 16 workers celebrated as “railway heroes” in the exhibition of that name at the National Railway Museum in York, in northern England. Lin is highlighted for the crucial role that she is playing in the construction of HighSpeed 2, known as HS2 — championed as the United Kingdom’s new low-carbon, high-speed railway.
Born in Zhuzhou, in China’s Hunan province, Lin moved to the UK when she was 3 years old. She studied architecture at the University of Bath before joining engineering company Laing O’Rourke’s graduate program as a planner in 2017.
Lin was chosen to be part of the team that hosted Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he visited the construction site for an HS2 interchange near Solihull in the West Midlands in September last year.
The opportunity came when she was working for a joint venture between Laing O’Rourke and J. Murphy that was carrying out infrastructure work for the rail project.
It was during the visit that Johnson announced the formal start of the main construction on HS2, highlighting the 22,000 jobs that would be required in the coming years to build phase one of the high-speed railway between London and the West Midlands.
Working in a team
The work to deliver Europe’s biggest engineering project has continued apace despite the coronavirus pandemic. Lin’s role in managing the program of construction has been no exception.
She was involved in the team that delivered the first permanent infrastructure components for the project, which saw the installation of two giant modular bridges spanning the M42 motorway and the A446 road near Solihull.
Her job within the engineering project is complex, but she likes it to constructing a bicycle. “The best way to describe the role of a planner is to think of how a bicycle is made from the design, to sourcing the materials, agreeing a cost, making the components and then putting it together,” she said.
Railway Heroes launched online this month due to a national lockdown. A physical exhibition featuring all 16 people will open simultaneously to the public at the railway museum in York and at Locomotion attraction in Shildon, County Durham, once the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
On being selected to take part in the exhibition, Lin said: “It was an honor to be asked to take part … and I hope to inspire more young people, particularly women, to consider a career in the construction and engineering industry”.
She added: “Five years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be working in this sector, and on a project the sheer scale of HS2, but I love being part of a big team and helping to deliver this unprecedented UK railway.”
Lin is passionate about the development of future talent and ensuring that young professionals choose to stay in the West Midlands to realize their career ambitions. Outside of work she is heavily involved in a Birmingham committee on the professional services construction industry.
Judith McNicol, director of the National Railway Museum, said: “This exhibition is an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to the thousands of railway key workers who have kept the country going over the last year. The stories featured in the exhibition are an inspiration and fully deserving of wider recognition.”
Simon Russell, project director for the Laing O’Rourke and J. Murphy joint venture, said: “Lin is part of a generation of bright and confident young people that are building their careers on this exciting project.”