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February 21, 2017

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Home » District » Minhang

Going the extra mile to attain perfect safety record

FROM Xinzhuang to the Minhang Development Zone, Metro Line 5 has 22 stations stretching about 34 kilometers. For the past five years, Ding Guanling has driven the train along the same track 117,644 times with no accidents.

He put his skills to the test in a recent national competition of subway driving skills, and came in runner-up.

Of the 3,500 participants in the contest, 29-year-old Ding was among the youngest. He was one of eight train drivers representing Shanghai.

“I really, really love this job,” said Ding. “I am always trying to improve my driving skills. Although I didn’t win first place at the championship because I made a mistake on the written test, just being there was reward enough.”

Ding joined the Shanghai Metro Group as a station attendant in 2010 after job-hopping for a long time. A year later, when the group started to recruit drivers from among attendants, Ding signed up.

It took 18 months of training for Ding to receive his driver’s certificate. For many, driving a train is boring, underpaid work. For Ding, it is a dream come true.

“I always liked vehicle mechanics,” he said. “I approach my job every day with enthusiasm and vigor. It never bores me.”

His day shift starts at 7:30am, and the night shifts end at 10:30pm. Drivers can’t be late for work because it can affect a large network that runs on schedule. Drivers get a break for 10 to 20 minutes after each round trip.

“There are no weekends or national holidays for us,” said Ding. “We follow our schedules, no matter what the day. Apart from daily work, there are emergency rehearsals and monthly exams as well.”

The foremost responsibility of a Metro driver is passenger safety. Part of that job is done through gestures.

One gesture is to tighten the fingers together and point straight at items for the station attendants to check, including signals and train doors to make sure they are operating as they should. In the past five years, Ding said he has made gestures at least 100 times a day at stations where the train stops. It’s a small thing, but an important one.

“If you don’t make the gestures clear, the attendants might misunderstand what you are indicating, and that could lead to problems,” said Ding.

The biggest challenges are the smallest failures. According to service standards, any small failure must be dealt with in no longer than three minutes, so that train schedules aren’t disrupted.

One day of last year, for example, a door near the rear of the train broke down. No matter which button Ding pressed, it wouldn’t close, so he had to run down the length of the 78-meter train and lose the door manually after each of the 22 stops.

“I had to dash at top running speed to close the door,” he said. “It was quite tiring, but I had no choice.”

In the national competition, drivers were required to deal with three different emergencies. Ding’s prompt and strong reaction to problems was the key factor in his performance.

Ding has received numerous awards, which he views as milestones of his career.

“As long as I’m on the job, I am going to give it 100 percent of myself,” he said. “A man’s life is fulfilled if he is doing his very best.”




 

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