Plateau railway expert builds reliability on frontline experience

Behind the safe operation of China's plateau railways are frontline technicians who solve problems on site, often in harsh environments and with little prior experience to draw on.

Quan Qingdong, service manager of the National Railway Division of CRRC Dalian Co, said on Thursday that 25 years of after-sales service for rail transit equipment have taught him that reliability is built on the front line.

Speaking at a media briefing titled "Forging Ahead on the New Journey" held by the State Council Information Office, Quan said he has long worked at railway operation and maintenance sites and has participated in locomotive servicing for major national projects, including the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway.

"The greatest challenge in plateau service is not only the harsh environment, but also the technical difficulties that come with having no mature experience to rely on," he said.

Quan said high altitude, low air pressure and large temperature variations can cause locomotive faults to manifest differently from those in plain areas, making some traditional testing methods ineffective.

During 10 years of work on the plateau, Quan traveled across snow-covered areas above 4,000 meters and once followed a locomotive for more than 70 consecutive hours to collect over 1,000 sets of operational data.

His team solved more than 100 maintenance problems, including diesel engine shutdowns and electrical faults. Quan also developed a traction control online detection device, improving fault diagnosis accuracy by 80 percent.

He helped establish a preventive maintenance model for locomotive electrical components, reducing maintenance downtime and cutting maintenance costs by about 60 percent.

Quan has participated in three major scientific and technological projects, obtained six patents and developed two advanced operating methods. He said these efforts have helped improve the maintenance quality and operational reliability of domestically made locomotives.

Quan also stressed the importance of attracting and training more young people for frontline railway work.

Many young college graduates in his workshop have become key technicians, technical problem-solvers and management personnel, he said. Platforms such as innovation workshops, craftsman lectures and skills competitions can help young workers gain experience and grow through major engineering projects, he added.