On March 3, all international passenger flights operated by Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport were transferred to Tianfu International Airport, and the ensuing transportation connection became the most concerned issue for citizens and passengers. Some citizens asked, why can't Chengdu Metro Line 26 operate 18 hours a day?

At 4:7 on April 30, a reporter from Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News followed the staff of Chengdu Rail Group into the station of Metro Line 18 after closing the station in the early morning. The reporter saw that although the station has been closed, it still reveals that it is tense and busy. Ticket vending machines, turnstiles, air conditioners, platform screen doors, and escalators are all manned; Entering the rail section (in the tunnel), flaw detection, comprehensive rectification, rail grinding, maintenance of the catenary, etc., in just 900 meters, the reporter walked for 2 hours, and for the on-site operators, some can only complete the operation task of just a few meters in one night.

Du Yuyu, deputy director of the Line 18 Operation Center of Chengdu Metro Operation Co., Ltd., said that the reporter saw only five or six maintenance items between the two stations, and for the whole line, more than 1200,<> maintenance items need to be completed every month, so every night, the maintenance work continues to be staged at different points on the line.

◆Station equipment maintenance

It takes 1.5 hours for a self-service ticket vending machine to be serviced

There are 11 stations in total

Why can't Chengdu Metro Line 18 operate 24 hours a day? What exactly should I do after closing the station?

At 7:30 a.m. on the 18th, following the footsteps of the staff, the reporter entered the Jincheng Square East Station of Metro Line 18. As soon as they entered the station, the staff handed over hard hats and fluorescent vests to everyone to wear. "This is the first step to ensure safety, and at the same time, everyone must not touch the equipment in the station and rail area according to the requirements to avoid danger." Bring personal belongings to avoid being missed in the track area, which will bring hidden dangers to the safe operation of the train. While introduced, the worker led the reporter to start the exploration tour of Chengdu Metro Line <> in the early morning.

Standing in the station hall floor, you can see that there are no passengers at this time, according to the normal process, at 12:<> every day, Jincheng Square East Station ushered in the last train, after the passengers exit, the staff will turn off the security inspection equipment and temperature measurement equipment at the ticket gate, and then close the station.

Closing the station does not mean that the station is "idle", for the staff, it is necessary to be busy against time. After the station was closed, passenger personnel began to patrol the entire station to avoid passengers not leaving the station. At the same time, two or three staff members crouched next to the turnstiles, behind the self-service ticket vending machines, and in front of the escalators, and they entered the tight maintenance time.

"The self-service ticket vending machine is used by many passengers every day, so the staff must regularly check and maintain it to avoid jamming during daytime use." According to Du Yuyu, the seemingly simple self-service ticket vending machine takes about one and a half hours for a maintenance, and there are a total of 1 self-service ticket vending machines at Jincheng Square East Station.

In addition to regular maintenance of self-service ticket vending machines, when encountering unexpected situations or difficult problems, it is also necessary to overhaul the equipment in question, which needs to be completed in as little as 4 hours.

The reporter saw that 5 meters away from the self-service ticket vending machine, three staff members were squatting on both sides of the turnstile to test the switching performance of the turnstile to avoid "dropping the chain" during the peak period of passenger flow, which would bring inconvenience to citizens. Such maintenance takes 3 hour at a time, and there are 1 sets of gates in the entire Jincheng Plaza East Station.

Escalators, air conditioning, screen doors... In all sections of the station, there are staff who are busy and work together to ensure the safety and normal operation of the station the next day.

◆Rail section maintenance

The smallest section reporter has to walk for 2 hours

Maintenance personnel must race against time for 4 hours of operation

In addition to the maintenance of various equipment in the station, for the subway, the maintenance of the track section is more important, if there is a problem, it may cause the subway line to be stopped.

Du Yuyu told reporters that the reason why he chose to visit between Jincheng Square East Station and Incubation Park Station this time is because it is the shortest section of the entire Metro Line 18, with a length of only 900 meters. If you choose another section, you may not have walked to the work site, and there is no time left.

At 1 a.m., after completing the personnel count, equipment inventory and other work, the reporter followed the construction personnel into the track section. As soon as they entered, the three staff members walked onto the track and began to overhaul the signal lights. On the other side, two staff members are inspecting the signal equipment. As a "major play", comprehensive rectification is also being carried out intensively.

According to the on-site construction personnel, the comprehensive rectification is mainly to overhaul the track, first of all, three personnel pushed the rail inspection vehicle to collect data such as the height, gauge, and triangle pit of the track, and after comparison, confirmed the section that required machine performance maintenance. Subsequently, a staff member with a ruler arrives at the area where the rail inspection vehicle detected the problem for retesting, and after confirming that there is a problem, he will write the corresponding data on the track with chalk. The construction personnel who followed immediately adjusted the distance and height of the track.

At the same time, the rail grinding car is also grinding the track, and two construction workers with professional equipment are constantly measuring the polished area, and once the data is not up to standard, the rail grinding car needs to be done again.

"Rail grinding is a very slow process, according to the calculation of 4 hours of construction overnight, sometimes only a few meters of grinding tasks can be completed, so once you enter the rail section construction, everyone is working against time." The construction staff told reporters that the shortest 900-meter interval alone may take half a month to complete the task.

Along the way, the reporter saw the lights on the platform of the incubation park, and the time had come to 2:15. From Jincheng Square East Station to the hatchery park station, it may only take 1 minute to take the subway normally, but just to understand the "horse and watch the flowers", the reporter took nearly 2 hours.

Song Lisha, head of Line 18 Station of Chengdu Metro Operation Co., Ltd., said that Jincheng Square East Station to Incubation Park Station is the shortest section of the whole line, only 900 meters, and the longest of Line 18 is the section from Tianfu Station to Sancha Station, with a total length of 20 kilometers, and it is not possible to complete a trip in 4 hours a night, let alone overhaul.

"In fact, what we are seeing today is only part of the night operation, and the same situation is playing out simultaneously in different sections of the line to prepare for safe operation the next day." Du Yuyu said.

As an important line connecting Tianfu International Airport, Chengdu Metro Line 18 has attracted much attention for its operating hours. At present, the first train at both ends of Line 18 is at 06:00, the last bus is at 23:30, and the final bus is around 00:20 the next day, with a total operation service time of nearly 18.5 hours. The rest of the time has obviously been handed over to maintenance construction, although it cannot be operated 24 hours a day, but this is also to better protect the safety of citizens.

Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Yan Yuheng