What they say
Editor’s Note: Railway workers were among the first groups that the Communist Party of China mobilized in its revolution to found the People’s Republic of China. Ahead of the Party’s centennial on July 1, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee invited five representatives from the railway sector to share stories about their efforts to secure people’s travel.
Yu Benfan, 38, Party chief of a maintenance workshop of China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group‘s Golmud section In Golmud, Qinghai province, it can be as cold as -40 C at high altitudes with just 45 percent of the oxygen on the plains. I have been working in this liferestricted zone for 12 years. Any cold or overload of labor may cause cerebral or pulmonary edema, which can be life-threatening in severe cases. China’s completion and operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is not only a miracle in the history of railway construction in the world, but also a source of happiness, income and unity for people along the line.
Xue Jun, 53, bullet train driver of China Railway’s Jinan section Having been a train driver for 37 years, I drove 4 million kilometers on 29 types of trains that transported more than 10 million passengers. My goal on the first day of my work was to drive the best train and to be the best train driver. Before, it required physical strength to drive a steam locomotive. Now it needs wisdom to drive a Fuxing bullet train. Fuxing runs at 350 kilometers per hour, much faster than the 60 km/h of a steam train. The speed of China amazes the world.
Huang Jili, 38, Party chief of Leifeng passenger service at the Nanjing Railway Station
My first job upon graduation from college in 2004 was at the Nanjing Railway Station. Over the past 17 years, my personal growth in my career accompanied the rapid development of China and tremendous changes in railway passenger transportation. Our job is to be the eyes and interpreters for passengers who have visual and speech disabilities and to be helpers for elderly passengers. We aim to make it easier for these passengers to travel.
Wang Bohua, 48, Party chief of China Railway Nanning Bureau Group’s Baise section maintenance workshop
To maintain the track, I repeatedly explored and researched by kneeling and climbing the rails hundreds of times a day, bending over and getting up more than a thousand times to pinpoint weakness. Through efforts, my colleagues and I controlled the track gauge error to the millimeter. After working for more than 20 years, I have seen the tremendous changes in the railway and saw people along the railway escape poverty. I will be like a solid road stud, guarding the safety and smooth flow of the railway day and night.
Huang Jin, 35, director of the traction brake research office of the China Academy of Railway Sciences Corporation
When I joined the academy in 2010, it was a critical moment for us to introduce, digest and recreate technology of China’s high-speed train. We were faced with many practical problems. Specific Party organizations were established for different majors to lead in tackling scientific and technological problems. Party members undertook more than 80 percent of the research projects in our academy. We had a belief to develop a bullet train with China’s independent intellectual property rights as soon as possible. As a railway science and technology worker, I am proud to see Fuxing bullet trains run in our motherland, providing high-quality travel services.