The 10th of Ramadan Railway: Witnesses the strength of China throughout the railway industrial chain——exclusive interview with CREEC Deputy General Manager Zhang Xuecai
Wen "Belt and Road Report" all-media reporter Li Hui concubine
On July 3, in the presence of Egyptian President Sisi, the Egyptian Ramadan Ten Days City Railway, which was jointly built by China and Egypt, was put into trial operation, which was the first electrified railway in Egypt. China Railway Second Academy Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Railway Second Hospital") represented China Railway Co., Ltd. as one of the general contractors of the project, and participated in the survey and design of the project throughout the process. What innovative breakthroughs have been achieved in the construction of the project? What are the highlights? How can the builders of China and Egypt work together? What have been the successes? On the eve of the opening, the reporter focused on these issues and interviewed Zhang Xuecai, deputy general manager of the Second China Railway Hospital in Egypt.
On July 3, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi witnessed the trial run of the 10th of Ramadan Railway. Jointly built by China and Egypt, it is the first electrified railway in Egypt. As one of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors on behalf of China Railway Group Limited (CREC), China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CREEC) was involved in the whole process of the project’s survey and design. What innovative breakthroughs have been achieved during project construction? What are the highlights? How did China and Egypt cooperate with each other? What successes have been achieved? To find answers to these questions, the journalist conducted an online interview with CREEC Deputy General Manager Zhang Xuecai before the opening of the railway.
Reporter: You have participated in the implementation of African railways from the Yaji Railway to the Egyptian Ramadan Ten Days City Railway, and your China Railway Second Academy is responsible for the whole process of survey and design of the project.
Journalist: Could you please introduce the innovations in the design of the 10th of Ramadan Railway as your company CREEC was involved in the whole process of the project’s survey and design and you have participated in the implementation of some railways in Africa including this project and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway.
Zhang Xuecai: As a leading enterprise in the survey and design of the railway industry, the Second Institute of China Railway has participated in the whole process of the Ethiopian Railway project from negotiation and program planning to survey and design, and cooperation with construction. The project is very different from China in terms of design stage division, drawing expression habits and depth, design management, etc. The design team of China Railway Second Institute bravely shoulders the burden, gives full play to the advantages of design leadership, and successfully makes the design get comprehensive approval.
Zhang Xuecai: CREEC, as a leading enterprise in railway survey and design, participated in the whole process of the 10th of Ramadan Railway, from negotiation, scheme planning, survey and design, and cooperative construction. This project differs from railways in China in terms of such aspects as the division of design phases, the drawings’ expression pattern and level of detail, and design management. CREEC shouldered the important responsibilities and fully leveraged its leading advantages in design, and finally its design was approved.
First of all, this is the first railway project in Egypt to apply seamless line design for off-track circuits, and the design team completed the project design in accordance with Chinese design standards and extensive reference to Local Egyptian specifications or engineering examples to ensure the safety of laying seamless lines. Secondly, the station construction scheme of the double-storey side-type ground station can not only meet the needs of Egyptian passengers, but also integrate the essence of Chinese architecture, becoming a model station in Egypt. Third, the seismic scheme design integrates the seismic concept of Celebrant and Europe, improves the overall seismic performance of the structure by adjusting the seismic structure, and realizes the economical and high efficiency of the structural design. Fourth, the train passed the international standard train fire and combustion test, and is a customized special vehicle that is resistant to sand, low noise and large passenger capacity.
Firstly, the 10th of Ramadan Railway is the first railway project that replaces the track circuit with the continuous welded rail (CWR) in Egypt. To complete the project design, the design team adopted Chinese design standards and referred to lots of Egyptian standards or engineering practices, thus ensuring the security of CWR laying. Secondly, the double-story side platform station above the ground has become a model in Egypt. Its construction plan meets the needs of Egyptian passengers while incorporating the essence of Chinese architecture. Thirdly, in terms of the seismic design, both the Chinese and European concepts were used. The design team improved the overall seismic performance through structure adjustment and achieved economical and efficient structural design. In addition, the customized train passed the international fire and combustion experiment. Besides resistance to sandstorms, it also features low noise and a large passenger capacity.
Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang took a group photo with the Ethiopian Railway project construction team
Reporter: The Ethiopian Railway project is generally contracted by The China Railway-AVIC International Consortium, what are the outstanding highlights in the implementation process?
Journalist: As many people may know, CREC-AVIC INTL Consortium served as the EPC contractor of the 10th of Ramadan Railway. Could you please introduce the highlights during project implementation to us?
Zhang Xuecai: The Ethiopian Railway project is the first major project of China's rail transit industry chain into Egypt, with high technical standards, high proportion of equipment, high added value, and has created a number of "firsts" in Egypt: China's electric buses, engineering vehicles, vehicle section process equipment entered Egypt for the first time, and is the first rail crossing line in Egypt to adopt CBTC signaling system. The first application of AC 27.5kV traction power supply system in Egypt rail transit, the first use of centralized system maintenance (MMS) scheme, the first introduction and application of comprehensive grounding technology system, the world's leading face recognition, intelligent detection functions applied to video surveillance systems, the first time in the "Belt and Road" rail transit project to meet the European standard weak current centralized power supply dual UPS, double busbar power supply system...... These have enabled Chinese design, Chinese solutions, Chinese equipment, and Chinese craftsmanship to create a good reputation in the Egyptian market.
Zhang Xuecai: The 10th of Ramadan Railway is Egypt’s first major project involving the whole industrial chain of China’s rail transit. It features high technical standards, high proportion of equipment and high added value. It has broken new ground for Egypt in multiple aspects as follows. Firstly, it is the first time for Egypt to introduce China’s electric trains, engineering vehicles and process equipment of the vehicle depot. Secondly, it is the first railway in Egypt that adopted the Communication Based Train Control (CBTC) signal system and adopted electric traction power supply using alternating current (AC) at 27.5 kilovolts (kV). Besides, it is also Egypt’s first railway using the Maintenance Management System (MMS), introducing the comprehensive power system grounding technology and applying the international leading face recognition and intelligent detection to the video monitoring system. Moreover, this is the first time to use the dual uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system and dual busbar power supply system that meet the European standards in a rail transit project along the Belt and Road. These efforts have established a good reputation in the Egyptian market for Chinese design, solutions, equipment and technology.
The Ambassador of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and the leaders of the Project Department of the Economic and Commercial Affairs Office took a group photo at the project camp
Reporter: During the implementation of the Ethiopian Railway project, the builders of China and Egypt cooperated to promote the trial operation of the railway as scheduled.
Journalist: During the implementation of the 10th of Ramadan Railway Project, the builders of China and Egypt went all out to open the railway as scheduled. Please brief us on the cooperation between Chinese and Egyptian builders on the project.
Zhang Xuecai: The Ethiopian Railway Project is one of the landmark projects of the "Belt and Road" cooperation between China and Egypt, using Chinese technology and equipment, and jointly implemented by more than 10 Egyptian enterprises and more than 20 Chinese enterprises. Among them, Egyptian enterprises are responsible for civil engineering, decoration and track construction, and Chinese enterprises are responsible for the installation of process equipment and mechanical and electrical equipment in the vehicle section, and the comprehensive joint commissioning of mechanical and electrical systems. Due to the large differences between China and Egypt in terms of work and rest time, cultural concepts, ways of thinking, etc., especially the many interfaces between mechanical and electrical installation and decoration, the construction process restricts each other, and the construction period is extremely tight, which increases the difficulty of coordinating the management of the general contractor. The Chinese management team made overall arrangements and fully respected local cultural customs, so that the operations of the enterprises of both sides were seamlessly and orderly carried out, ensuring the smooth progress of the project.
Zhang Xuecai: The 10th of Ramadan Railway Project is one of the landmark projects of the China-Egypt cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Utilizing Chinese technology and equipment, the project was implemented by over 10 Egyptian enterprises and over 20 Chinese enterprises. Among them, Egyptian enterprises were responsible for civil construction, decoration and track construction, while Chinese enterprises took charge of the installation of process equipment and electromechanical equipment in the depot and the comprehensive joint commissioning of electromechanical systems. However, the general contractor faced enormous difficulties in coordinating and managing the project because of the differences between China and Egypt in terms of work and rest time, cultural concepts, and ways of thinking, as well as the numerous interfaces of electromechanical installation and decoration, the mutual restriction of construction procedures, and the extremely tight construction schedule. In response to these issues, the Chinese management team made overall arrangements and fully respected local culture and customs, so that the operations of the enterprises of both sides were seamlessly connected and carried out in an orderly manner, which ensured the smooth progress of the project.
Chinese enterprises attach great importance to the training of young Egyptian technicians, demonstrate "Chinese speed" in the special period of the epidemic, impart "Chinese experience", and write a new chapter in Sino-Egyptian cooperation in the new era.
The builders of the two countries made concerted efforts. Chinese enterprises prioritized the training of young Egyptian technicians. In the fight against the pandemic, they demonstrated “Chinese speed” and passed on “Chinese experience”, writing a new chapter of China-Egypt cooperation in the new era.
Zhang Xuecai inspected the work of the electric bus into the section track
Reporter: From the Yaji Railway to the Egyptian Ramadan Ten Days City Railway, China Railway is the forerunner of the "Belt and Road" construction, what successful experiences can be shared in the process of "going out" with Chinese standards and Chinese technology?
Journalist: From the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway to the 10th of Ramadan Railway, CREC has acted as a pioneer in the Belt and Road construction. What successful experience would you like to share with us in terms of Chinese standards and technologies going global?
Zhang Xuecai: The Ethiopian Railway project has achieved the "going out" of Chinese standards, Chinese technology and Chinese equipment, which is of great significance. In terms of design standards, Chinese standards are adopted in terms of the shape and width of the subgrade surface, the cross-section of the subgrade standard, the composition of the subgrade structure, the subgrade packing and compaction standards, the design of the base bed, the design principles and requirements of the transition section, the stability and deformation control of the subgrade, and the general design principles of the wired reconstruction of the subgrade. In terms of test equipment and test methods in China, the domestic GTJ-K intelligent foundation coefficient tester was introduced for the detection of the base coefficient K30 of the road base. Construction equipment and special building materials, large earth and stone equipment, prestress tensioning and grouting equipment and other construction equipment, prestressed products (steel strands, anchors, clips, etc.), geogrids, bridge supports and other building materials are produced in China.
Zhang Xuecai: The 10th of Ramadan Railway Project has made Chinese standards, technology and equipment go global, which is of great value. In terms of design standards, Chinese standards were adopted in such aspects as the shape and width of the subgrade surface, the standard cross-section of the subgrade, the composition of the subgrade structure, the packing and compaction standards of the subgrade, the design of the foundation bed, the design principles and requirements of the transition section, subgrade stability and deformation control, and the general design principles of the subgrade for the reconstruction of the existing line. As for test equipment and methods, the GTJ-K intelligent foundation coefficient tester was introduced from China for the foundation coefficient K30 test of the subgrade. As to construction equipment and special building materials, the project adopted construction equipment produced in China such as large earthwork equipment, pre-stressed tension and grouting equipment, as well as building materials from China like pre-stressed products (steel strand, anchorage device, clamp, etc.), geogrids, and bridge supports.
During the implementation of the project, we invited people from all levels in Egypt to visit China, feel the great achievements of China's rail transit development, and intuitively understand the strength of China's rail transit "whole industry chain". Through the implementation of this project, we have further strengthened the confidence of Chinese standards, Chinese technology and Chinese equipment to "go global".
During the implementation of the project, we have invited people from all walks of life in Egypt to visit China to experience the great achievements of China’s rail transit development and intuitively understand the strength of the whole industry chain of China’s rail transit. Through the implementation of this project, we have further strengthened our confidence in Chinese standards, technology and equipment going global.
Source: Belt and Road Report (Chinese and English), No. 4, 2022
Editor: Concubine Li Hui
Review: Jia Qi
Proofreader: Raylu
Editor-in-Chief: Deng Zhuo
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