Footprints in the snow
The living and working conditions here are so harsh that the team can only reach their points on foot, carrying all the tools they need-hammers, shovels, pickaxes and wrenches-to clear snow banks and tunnels and to repair frost damage. Over the course of four hours, they make several trips delivering equipment and cover nearly 13 kilometers by following their own footprints in the snow beside the railway tracks. There is no mobile phone signal in the mountains. The staff have to use a railway phone in the maintenance zone to communicate with the outside world.
There are no fixed meal breaks, but instead the team grab a bite of hot food after they return to their bunks-perhaps the warmest moment of the day. In the face of steep mountains, bitter cold and heavy snow, the Xiluoqi maintenance team tenaciously guard the access to and safety of this remote stretch of rail line.
