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Nine years ago, in 2009, the Saudi government announced an unprecedented plan: $60 billion to build a high-speed rail line between Mecca and Medina. This ambitious project attracted a large number of professional teams from around the world to bid, but when they visited the Saudi environment, almost all said that the project could not be completed.
The Saudi government was faced with a thorny question: how to provide a more convenient, comfortable and safe mode of transportation between Mecca and Medina? High-speed rail became the solution because it was able to accommodate more passengers not only at higher speeds.
However, the plan initially faced great challenges. Saudi Arabia's climatic conditions are extreme, with hot temperatures reaching about 50 degrees Celsius all year round, and the hot desert climate has brought great difficulties to the construction of the project. Delegations from several countries abandoned the project after field visits, believing that the project could not be completed.
Even the Italian engineers, despite their long stay in Saudi Arabia, eventually had to admit the difficulties of the project. High labor costs in Europe and relatively weak infrastructure in the Middle East make the project very costly, and Saudi Arabia's limited fresh water resources make the project even less cost-effective.
As the birthplace of high-speed rail, Japan has also chosen to remain silent after examining the environment in Saudi Arabia. The project attracted widespread attention internationally, but several months passed and no country dared to take this sky-high order. The Saudi government is eager to solve the transportation problem, but no country seems willing to take on this huge challenge.
However, just as the Saudi government was ready to give up, China appeared in the story. The Chinese delegation bravely accepted the $60 billion challenge and addressed the Saudi government's urgent needs.
China's high-speed rail technology is very mature, not only has advanced technology, but also has sufficient labor resources. However, even China underestimated the complexity of the project.
Saudi Arabia's geographical environment is extreme, high temperatures, sandstorms, desert and other factors have increased the difficulty of the project. The Chinese engineering team first conducted experiments in Xinjiang's Taklamakan Desert, simulating the construction of a high-speed railway, before heading to Saudi Arabia. They set up sand retaining trenches and sand accumulation platforms next to the tracks to prevent wind and sand from eroding the tracks. In addition, they used the impact rolling method and the vibrating extrusion method to enhance the stability of the subgrade. In order to solve the problem of large temperature fluctuations, they used special steel rails and adopted physical cooling methods to ensure the normal operation of high-speed rail.
However, this project is not just a technical challenge. Due to Saudi Arabia's limited labor resources, the Chinese engineering team has had to recruit a large number of workers at home and face difficulties in communicating between workers from different cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Working hours and religious activities in Saudi Arabia also had an impact on the progress of the project.
Despite the difficulties, the Chinese engineering team finally completed the project in 2018. The new high-speed railway, named the "Maimai high-speed railway", can reach a maximum speed of 360 kilometers per hour, becoming the world's first high-speed railway across the desert built overseas by Chinese companies.
While there are reports that China is losing $4 billion on the project, the reality may not be what it seems. First, on the Saudi side, they handed over the five-year operation of the Maimai high-speed railway to Chinese companies, which will bring considerable benefits to China. In addition, the project has brought China and Saudi Arabia closer to each other, leading to cooperation in the oil sector and other commercial cooperation. In general, although China has invested a lot of money in the construction of high-speed rail, it has actually achieved greater returns through cooperation in other fields and international publicity.
This story teaches us that sometimes the greater the challenge, the greater the reward. China's high-speed rail engineering team has not only completed a landmark project after overcoming many difficulties, but also won international credibility and business opportunities for China. The high-speed rail project is not only a project, but also an opportunity for international cooperation and development.
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