While we’re sleeping, Nanjing’s metro system may not be running trains, but that doesn’t mean it’s idle. For each night, an army of workers take to the tracks. They’ve spent the nights of Chinese New Year like any other; making sure everything is tip top.
Search Nanjing on Instagram and it won’t be long until you find a rather pretty picture someone has snapped on or around a Nanjing Metro Line 9 train. And that’s because Line 9 is famed for its section that traverses Shijiu Lake, which borders the city’s Lishui and Gaochun districts, as well as Anhui Province to the west.
But in the middle of winter and the dead of night, the track is also a somewhat forbidding place. Amid plummeting temperatures, rain and flurries of snow, a reporter for Purple Cow News accompanied a maintenance crew on their overnight mission during Chinese New Year; to make the track safe for the coming morning’s trains.
It starts at 23:00 outside te Tuanjiewei Metro Station. The maintenance team members place their measuring instruments, wrenches and other tools neatly on the ground. Team leader is Zhou Jun. “Every day, when others are sleeping, we have to hurry up and use the empty window after 00:00 for track maintenance”, Zhou said. “No matter it’s windy or rainy, this work can’t be stopped. The worse the weather is, the more we have to go to work in the rain or wind. We must ensure that the metro can operate smoothly the next day.”
Each night, the team shall carefully count their tools and equipment, and take photos thereof. This process is repeated at the end of the shift.
“We have to count four times before and after warehousing and operation to ensure that no tools or materials are left on the line”, said Zhou. “Metro train operation has very high safety requirements. Even a small screw left on the line may lead to major safety incidents.”
It was now midnight. The rail work car rumbled away. In the open-air carriage, snowflakes were flying over everyone’s heads and the cold wind beat their faces.
It’s over 10 kilometres across the lake. As the New Year Eve began, Zhou’s team was to patrol and maintain eight kilometres of the stretch.
The team’s foreman is Wang Zhengyong. He takes a few steps down the line, stops, then bends down to measure the track’s gauge. He then takes a few more steps and repeats the process. Over 2.5 – 3 hours, Wang shall stoop to measure the gauge several thousands times.
Wang explained that carelessness has no place on a job like this. “I have worked on this line for 2 years and have checked many times. It looks like any old track, but I basically know every inch and I will not ignore any detail or hidden danger”, he said.
Around him, others are taking small hammers to gently tap the rails, while still others check the tightness of the bolts securing the track to its sleepers beneath.
It’s nearly 03:00 when the work is complete. With no serious problems detected, there’s plenty time until the first Line S9 train passes a little after 06:00.
Wang acknowledges his work is very ordinary and dull. But he notes that his family takes Line S9 every day. Thinking of their safety and that of other passengers, Wang said, “I think every bend I make is very meaningful”.
