Spider-Men keeping rail travelers safe
Print Edition
Move over Spider-Man, Miao Yingjiao鈥檚 the real thing. He鈥檚 one of a growing army of workers who spend almost every night suspended high above the ground to maintain overhead railway lines.
After midnight, after the high-speed trains come to a halt, Miao climbs onto thin wires six meters above Laibin City in south China鈥檚 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Carrying a pair of pliers, he checks that all the screws are in place and the lines are properly connected.
鈥淢y job is to guarantee that high-speed trains operate properly in the daytime,鈥 the 24-year-old says. 鈥淚 have to be very careful because a single trivial mistake could cause a major accident.鈥
Miao is one of many 鈥淪pider-Men鈥 meeting the increasing demand for overhead line maintenance as the development of high-speed railways continues on its fast track.
Such workers came into the spotlight last week, when Chinese financial newspaper the Economic Daily featured Miao in an article.
China had 16,000 kilometers of operational high-speed railway lines, about 60 percent of the world鈥檚 total, by the end of 2014, according to official data. And it is these Spider-Men who help the trains stay safely on the track.
鈥淲hen I first started climbing up to the lines two years ago, I could feel my legs shaking, and I just wanted to quit,鈥 Miao says. 鈥淚t took me a while to get used to it.鈥
Wu Xiaoming, an overhead line worker in Changchun, capital of the northeast China鈥檚 Jilin Province, says another challenge is adjusting to working at night.
鈥淓ach of us is typically on a four-day shift, working at night and sleeping in the day,鈥 Wu says.
Cellphone signals and Internet connections are suspended where he works, as it is close to an airport.
鈥淲e literally live in isolation for four consecutive days,鈥 he says.
鈥淢y job can be tough sometimes,鈥 says Song Chao, a worker in Wuhan, capital of central China鈥檚 Hubei Province.
鈥淏ut it is worth it because I know that I am keeping millions of people safe.鈥
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
