Liao MIng, who works for the Beijing Subway Company, operates a subway car. As a subway operator, Liao has driven 900,000 km accident-free. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Liao Ming, a subway operator with the Beijing Subway Company, set a record for driving 900,000 km with no accidents in his 30 years on the job, becoming the safest driver on the urban transport circuit in the country.

Liao started operating subway cars in August 1985 after graduating from a technical school.

"To become an excellent metro operator, one needs to have good technical skills and the ability to be ready for the unexpected."

He said he once dreamed of going to college, but chance led him to ultimately become a subway operator.

When Liao started at the subway company, he was determined to work hard and learn from his more experienced co-workers. Every time he encountered a problem, he wrote it down and then asked the seasoned operators how to solve it.

To ensure the trains were in good operating order, Liao would often walk up and down alongside the metro cars with a hammer, checking for any mechanical defects. After working with the company for some time, he was able to draw up a circuit diagram of the trains. In 1989, he became the company's youngest head operator.

"I organized activities every month. I praised the staff members with the most outstanding performances each month and held discussions on ways we could improve," Liao said, adding that his team was like a big, warm family.

He came to work every morning 20 minutes earlier than his colleagues to check the trains before they started moving passengers for the day.