At 3:35 am on January 17, 2025, with the intense debugging of the No. 10 turnout at the Banbianshan Line Station on the Chengdu - Chongqing High - Speed Railway and the qualification of the last weld joint in flaw detection, it marked the successful completion of the turnout flash welding rail replacement construction of the section. The breakthrough of the turnout - dedicated rail flash welding machine developed by Aigre and the brand - new flash welding process has opened a new chapter in the professional management of rails within the section's jurisdiction. It has extended the service life of rails, greatly reduced maintenance costs, injected powerful impetus into the safety and development of railway transportation, and accumulated valuable experience for subsequent construction.

The Chengdu - Chongqing High - Speed Railway connects Chengdu, Sichuan Province with downtown Chongqing. It is an important transportation artery in the Chengdu - Chongqing Twin - City Economic Circle, with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. The average daily number of passengers sent exceeds 140,000, and a bus - like train departs every 5 - 10 minutes on average. The construction site this time is connected to the Chongqing - Guiyang Connection Line and the Jingxi Connection Line of the Chengdu - Chongqing High - Speed Railway. In the nearly ten years since its opening, with the increase in passenger flow, the equipment condition can no longer meet the safety requirements, and replacement is imminent.

"The key point of this construction lies in whether the new rails can be smoothly laid into the trough. Everyone must follow the established plan, obey the command, and act in unison to ensure absolute safety," Li Dongfeng, the deputy section chief in charge, repeatedly emphasized at the construction safety disclosure meeting. It is reported that for this turnout flash welding rail replacement construction, two new straight stock rails with lengths of 25 meters and 42 meters need to be inserted for rod - removing replacement. The construction difficulty is high, the technical requirements are strict, and the skylight time is tight, setting multiple "firsts" and being of great significance.

"In the past, aluminothermic welding was used for turnout welding, and the hardness of the joint after welding only reached 50% of the strength of the base metal. However, this time, the turnout - dedicated rail flash welding machine of Sichuan Aigre was used. The strength of the rail joint can reach more than 90% of the strength of the base metal, saving about 60 minutes of skylight time, greatly improving the stability of the joint quality. At the same time, mechanized intelligent welding has reduced environmental pollution to a certain extent, further enhancing the safety of train operation and the comfort of passengers," said Xu Yanfu, the construction leader.

The successful completion of this construction is an important victory for all staff to work together and overcome difficulties, creating a prerequisite for improving the quality and capacity of railway transportation. After the opening, the equipment condition of the Banbianshan Line Station on the Chengdu - Chongqing High - Speed Railway will see a qualitative leap, laying a solid foundation for helping the Chengdu - Chongqing Twin - City Economic Circle to achieve "acceleration" and realize the goal of "a safe, orderly, and warm Spring Festival travel rush, making the travel experience of passengers better."

Source: Chongqing Railway Track Maintenance Section