On October 24, at 12 PM, the seasonal maintenance on the Daqin Railway, known as “China’s First Heavy Load Line,” was successfully completed two days ahead of schedule. This achievement is crucial as it lays the groundwork for restoring transport capacity and meeting the coal supply demands for the upcoming heating season.

The Daqin Railway stretches from Datong in Shanxi Province to Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province and serves as a major artery for transporting coal from the western regions to the eastern parts of China. It transports more than 400 million tons of coal annually, servicing customers across 26 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, while supporting over 300 power plants and more than 6,000 industrial enterprises.

To ensure the equipment’s optimal performance during winter coal transport, the Daqin Railway initiated a daily suspension of services for three hours starting October 7, allowing for comprehensive maintenance work. Over the course of this intensive program, crews have replaced 117.9 kilometers of rail, repaired 93.9 kilometers of track bed, and replaced 16,000 sleepers. There were also upgrades to cables and fiber optics, alongside significant work on 47 bridges that included ballast replacement and realignment, as well as concentrated repairs in 23 tunnels. These efforts effectively restored the railway infrastructure, which had been under prolonged high-capacity operation, significantly enhancing both transport and safety capabilities.

To optimize construction efficiency, the Taiyuan Railway Bureau implemented a well-coordinated strategy involving manpower, materials, and machinery. They invited support from 22 construction teams across 12 railway bureau groups, deploying 57 large construction machines, 132 smaller machines, and 58 rail vehicles, with approximately 13,000 workers on-site. The team devised a meticulous construction plan, monitored progress in real time, and adjusted strategies to address transportation and construction conflicts, ultimately achieving a balance between transport demands and maintenance efficacy.

During the concentrated maintenance period, the Daqin Railway maintained an impressive average daily throughput of over 1 million tons. With the completion of the maintenance, transport capacity is expected to quickly return to over 1.2 million tons per day, fully supporting coal supply needs for power generation and heating this winter and spring.