＂Snail＂ bullet train driver’s Spring Festival travel rush night： ＂runaway＂ 15 kilometers every night.

　　There is such a group of EMU drivers who wear yellow vests and usually move at night. The speed of the motor train they drive is as slow as a snail, but they are unequivocal in their work and steady and skillful in their movements. They are the ground drivers of EMUs, and Wang Rui, a young driver of EMUs in Hefei Locomotive Depot, is one of them.

　　At about 19: 00 on January 29th, a reporter from China Youth Daily and Zhongqing Online came to South motor vehicle application to visit the working process of the snail driver.

　　It is understood that the ground driver is responsible for the shunting task of the EMU in the EMU yard, and cooperates with the dynamic inspection personnel to inspect the car at night. There are various speed requirements such as line changing, running, car washing and even hanging. Even for the fastest "lane-changing" operation, the speed of the EMU cannot exceed 30 kilometers per hour.

　　At 18 o’clock every day, just as the night begins, Wang Rui will enter the working state. He must first pick up the shunting plan, and after checking it again and again, he will walk to the parking garage, walk into the cab of the EMU, carry out a series of safety inspection procedures, and recite a long list of instructions and passwords in turn before starting work.

　　According to reports, there are 8 people working in Wang Rui’s team. During his stay in Spring Festival travel rush, they have to undertake the shunting task of more than 40 EMUs in one night, and it takes nearly 1.5 kilometers to walk from the dispatching room of the EMU to the parking lot. At the busiest time in Spring Festival travel rush, Wang Rui had to walk nearly 30,000 steps and nearly 15 kilometers a night shift. They were also called "runaway" drivers by colleagues.

　　EMU basically operates during the day and is overhauled at night, so ground drivers also act at night in order to cooperate with the overhaul work, becoming "night owls". When Wang Ruigang changed from a big line driver to a ground driver, it was difficult for him to adapt to this high-intensity night shift.

　　"If you are too sleepy at night and a shunting signal is not confirmed, it is very likely to cause a shunting accident. Therefore, you should always run to the car wash basin and wash your face with cold water to keep yourself awake at all times. The most important thing is to force yourself to sleep well before work to ensure that you have plenty of energy at night. " He said.

　　In Wang Rui’s view, the most difficult thing should be the "car wash" link. The reporter learned that there must be ground drivers to cooperate in cleaning the EMU. They operate the EMU and drive through the automatic car washing line to wash the car. There is a strict process for the EMU to wash the car through the automatic car washing line: the bow must be cut at the place where the bow is cut, and the parking place must be parked, otherwise it will cause a serious accident of burning the catenary. Therefore, this seemingly simple work is actually a technical activity, and there can be no deviation.

　　At about 22 o’clock that night, another EMU shunting task was completed. After the inspection, Wang Rui closed the door and got out of the car. While walking to the garage, he recalled his work experience to the reporter. It turns out that he has been working in the railway industry for nearly 20 years and is a young "old driver".

　　Since work, my wife often complains. Wang Rui said: "other people’s families go out to play on holidays, but it can’t be realized here. I don’t have a holiday and feel sorry for my wife and children." I have worked for 20 years, and I have spent no more than three Spring Festival holidays at home in my memory.

　　At ordinary times, EMUs usually enter the station for inspection at 18: 30, and leave the station at 4: 00 in the morning to take passengers. During Spring Festival travel rush, due to the busy transportation, the earliest train will enter the station for inspection at around 21: 00, and the number of EMUs entering the station has also increased from more than 30 to more than 40. The number of trains entering the station has increased by 30%, but the operation procedures of shunting cannot be reduced, which brings difficulties to the work of ground drivers of motor trains.

　　According to the work scheduling plan, Wang Rui will still be on duty on New Year’s Eve this year. He felt that through the efforts of himself and his colleagues, it was a great responsibility for effectively ensuring the demand for motor vehicles of Spring Festival travel rush EMU and contributing to the order of Spring Festival travel rush, and we should be more alert and not slack off.

　　Shao Pin China Youth Daily Zhongqing Online Trainee Reporter Wang Haihan Reporter Chloe Wang