At the end of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic made a comeback, catching us off guard and posing a huge challenge to the normal operation of Pingyan Railway. With the strong support of China Railway Guangzhou (freight department, scheduling office, freight center, train service sector, etc.), all staff of Pingyan Railway united as one to ensure smooth intermodal transportation and normal services.

In December, the intermodal throughput was 29,000 TEU, up 45% year-on-year.  The total volume of 2022 is 232,000 TEU, up 10% year-on-year, setting a new monthly record and a new annual record.

A great era calls for a great spirit, and a noble cause needs role models to lead. There is a large group of ordinary people in the company that braved coronavirus risk and made extraordinary contributions.

They took on multiple roles and sticked to their posts. At the most difficult time, only three people were left in charge of train scheduling, and they not only needed to make train schedules, but also needed to be on duty.

They were brave enough to take the risk of infections and step up to the plate. When there weren't enough train operators, supervisors stepped up to cover shifts to ensure there were at least two drivers on each shift. They were not only responsible for driving trains in and out of stations, but also dispatching trains.

Many times they were too busy for a meal. We owe the smooth operation of at least eight pairs of trains entering and leaving the station to their hard work and team work spirit.

Railway duty officer: Zhu Yongqiang

He cancelled his planned vacation and worked multiple shifts in rotation. As the dispatcher who was originally on duty was infected by COVID-19, he took the initiative to assist in handling the complex and changing scheduling tasks and went out of his way to support the railroad operation team, setting an excellent example.

Train operator: Liang Xingming

There was a serious shortage of manpower during the peak infection period. Although his family was hit, he resolutely chose to stick to his post to drive and dispatch trains.

Inland port: Wu Jian

Up to now, YANTIAN has 11 inland ports and 28 intermodal services. Wu Jian was responsible for following up inland port operations, including arrival formalities, storage, loading and unloading, shipment planning, catch-up tracking, emergency response, etc. He also assisted his supervisors to apply for favorable tariff policies, and helps to arrange various field researches on intermodal service. Even in poor physical condition, he kept holding on to ensure the smooth operation of the inland ports.

DC duty officers

Despite the ravages of the virus, members of the DC duty team worked together and took turns to ensure unobstructed intermodal service and handled over 1,000 TEU in a single day on the last two days of 2022.

Train scheduling: Ma Quanxi, Li Rongqiang, Shi Huidong, Zhao Jun, and Lin Kuan

As the epidemic gets worse, there were only three dispatchers and one dispatch clerk were able to go to work from December 22, so the team started to work in two shifts in a day to maintain normal operations. On December 24, only two dispatchers, Ma Quanxi and Li Rongqiang, were able to work. Under such circumstances, they had to work in two shifts, completing not only their own work but also all the work of the dispatch clerk. Shi Huidong, the assistant supervisor who recovered from COVID-19, rushed back to the company at the first time to take over the work of dispatching, gatehouse, and DC colleagues, and assisted the management team to deliver greetings and care to frontline employees. Then, Zhao Jun and Lin Kuan went back to take over the work of their colleagues who had been working for 6 days, and continued to work in two shifts to ensure normal production.

Gatehouse: Wen Guoqiang, Ye Youhui, Zheng Yunhua, Gua Haijun

On December 26, there were only 2 duty officers, Wen Guoqiang and Ye Youhui, who were able to work and started to work in two shifts. Later, they fell ill, and Zheng Yunhua, the senior supervisor at the gatehouse, took over the morning shift, and the evening shift was performed by Gua Haijun.

OC order placement: Zhuang Yijie

Rail order services are assigned to dedicated persons. Zhuang Yijie, the person in charge of the Jiangxi service, worked from home after being infected and didn't miss a single order.

Project team: Zheng Xuhao

In addition to Zheng Xuhao, the Pingyan project team also includes gatehouse clerks, reach stacker operators and trailer drivers. After the outbreak, they were infected one after another, putting the site on the verge of suspension. Zheng Xuhao, who was on vacation, took the initiative to return to work and take up several jobs to maintain normal operations until the infected colleagues were back.

Success has never been achieved by a few individuals working alone, but by everyone working together with the same goal and determination. It is the perseverance of all the staff of Pingyan Railway that makes the dream come true.

Special thanks go to those, who ensured the normal and safe operation of Pingyan Railway, maintained high-level customer services, and won the trust and satisfaction of customers. All their stunning contributions make YANTIAN stronger.