Railway emergency team crawls across thousands of miles to remove ice to ensure safety

　　China News Service, Guangzhou, February 5th, Title: Railway emergency team crawls across thousands of miles to remove ice to ensure safety

　　Author Wang Xu Sun Yupeng Guo Jun

　　"The field of view between the car body and the ground is too narrow, so we can only crawl on our knees to remove ice." In the early morning of February 4, the temperature in Yinchuan had reached nearly minus 10 degrees Celsius. An emergency snow removal team that had traveled thousands of miles was lying in the ice and snow, looking for icy spots with wooden sticks.

　　Since February 2, most areas of the country have been under an orange blizzard warning. The Guangzhou South Crew Workshop of the Guangzhou EMU of Guangzhou Railway Group immediately organized a three-person de-icing emergency team, captained by Guo Haijie, and rushed to Yinchuan, Ningxia, 2,736 kilometers away. The overnight EMU G878 is carrying out ice and snow removal.

　　"I just received a notification from the emergency command center that train G878 will be delayed by 1 hour and 30 minutes due to the impact of the snowstorm." Captain Guo Haijie pointed to the text message on his phone and told everyone.

　　"It seems like it will be another tough battle tonight." Team member Zuo Yi patted the captain on the shoulder and said. This was their fourth night of de-icing in Yinchuan. The evening wind blowing from Helan Mountain was so cold and biting that their heads would freeze to the point of dizziness after just one hour outside.

　　At 0:15 on February 4, G878 drove into the Yinchuan parking lot for the 8th time. Looking down at the bottom of the car, I saw that the brake caliper and the sand spreading part of the bogie had been frozen into a single piece.

　　After a long time of preparation, Guo Haijie and the other three quickly put on protective clothing, adjusted the position of their headlights, and started working. Since the track is basically flush with the ground and the car body is only twenty or thirty centimeters above the ground, it is impossible to observe the icing conditions on the bogie and car body floor from ordinary angles, and the de-icing work has reached a deadlock.

　　"Let's crawl on our knees to remove the ice." Guo Haijie suggested proactively. He fell to the ground first, supporting the ground with his left hand, and holding a wooden stick in his right hand, he reached under the car and stabbed hard at the icy parts. There was a "dong" sound, but the ice didn't move at all.

　　Seeing this, his teammates stepped forward to help. Cao Yusheng half-knelt on the ground, put his head under the car, and held up a headlight to find the icy location for him. Zuo Yi took the snow removal tools and worked with Guo Haijie to pound the solid ice. "Dong, dong, dong..." After dozens of knocks, only a "crash" sound was heard, and the ice on the bogie finally fell to the ground.

　　"There are still 2 hours left before the skylight period ends, and we must speed up the progress." Guo Haijie climbed up from the ground with difficulty. When crawling to remove ice, the zipper of the protective suit was loosened due to friction on the ground, and all the snow on the ground was stained. The snow on the cold-proof cotton-padded coat worn by Guo Haijie instantly soaked it. But there was no time to hesitate and they rearranged the zipper. Guo Haijie and his team members had no time to brush off the snow on their bodies and immediately started de-icing the bottom of the next car.

　　At 1:55, all the bogies and floors of the G878's 16 carriages were de-iced. Cao Yusheng, who was lying on the ground, was about to get up to review the situation under the car. After lying on the snow for a long time, his knees became too cold and he stumbled backwards.

　　"Be careful!" Guo Haijie on the side had quick eyes and quick hands. He took out Cao Yusheng's arm, slowly lifted him up and warned: "The snow on the ground is also frozen and the road is slippery. Please pay attention to safety."

　　"Report to the emergency command center, Yinchuan G878 de-icing work has ended, and the train crew's operation the next day will not be affected." At 2:15, captain Guo Haijie reported to the Guangzhou EMU Emergency Command Center that the day's de-icing work was completed.

　　At 2:35, the group returned to the Yinchuan apartment. Their cold-proof cotton coats were soaked, and it was unclear whether it was sweat or snow. (over)