In the cold winter, at the sprawling Xuzhou North Marshalling Yard, two steel rails glinting in the cold stretch into the distance. A figure in yellow work clothes kneels half on the rails, using a vernier caliper to measure the size of the track wire pins. This is Fu Yancheng, Deputy Director of the Xuzhou North Line Workshop of the Xuzhou Maintenance Section of China Railway Shanghai Group Co., Ltd., who is collecting data for the seventh research project.

In the nine years since joining the industry, Fu Yancheng has successively won honors such as the Railway Youth May Fourth Medal, the Excellence Award in the 'Revitalization Cup' National Youth Vocational Skills Innovation and Efficiency Competition, the National Railway Youth Science and Technology Innovation Award, and the Top Ten Youth of Shanghai Railway Group. He holds 14 national patents and has published five scientific papers, becoming a benchmark for innovation among young people.

2018 was the second year after Fu Yancheng graduated from the graduate program at Shijiazhuang Tiedao University. During the fine-tuning operations of the Qingyan (Qingdao to Yancheng) railway track, when experienced workers replaced the eccentric cones on high-speed train switches, they needed to repeatedly tap them with small hammers to loosen them. If they were stuck, it was laborious and difficult to remove them.

Can we 'fish' it out precisely and delicately, just like fishing?” This seemingly whimsical idea suddenly lit up in his mind. By self-studying mechanical principles and CAD drawing, he spent 18 months designing the 'High-Speed Rail Switch Eccentric Cone Hook and Dual-Purpose Replacement Device.' This device obtained a national invention patent, reducing the replacement time to 30 seconds and improving efficiency by more than twice.

Can we 'catch' it precisely and delicately, like fishing?

With a victorious first battle, Fu Yancheng's innovative door was thus opened. He took the lead in forming the first 'Science and Innovation Interest Group' in the section, 'assembling a team' for innovation.

The group's breakthrough projects all stem from the most real and urgent pain points on the railway work site: the low efficiency of automatic rail bolt lubrication led them to develop an automatic lubrication robot; the low efficiency of measuring the distance between adjacent tracks led them to develop a laser distance meter for railway spacing...

The group's breakthrough projects all stem from the most real and urgent pain points on the railway work site: the low efficiency of automatic rail bolt lubrication led them to develop an automatic lubrication robot; the low efficiency of measuring the distance between adjacent tracks led them to develop a laser distance meter for railway spacing...

In 2022, this vibrant young team was officially named the "Shanghai Railway Xugong" Qingtong Innovation Studio by the National Railway Youth League Committee. Among the 9 core members, 6 have successively won honors for the group's company and technological innovation achievements.

Nowadays, the burden on his shoulders has grown heavier, as he leads 135 workshop staff to safeguard the largest rail network marshalling hub in East China — Xuzhou North Marshalling Yard. This station connects the Beijing-Shanghai and Longhai main lines and serves as a "distribution hub" to ensure the safe and efficient transport of international and domestic essential goods such as China-Europe freight trains, coal, and grains.

The strategic initiatives in the national '15th Five-Year Plan' proposal, such as 'accelerating the development of a strong transportation nation' and 'advancing the digital and intelligent transformation of infrastructure,' have given grassroots innovators like Fu Yancheng a vast platform. He plans to develop a lightweight automated screening machine to further enhance labor productivity.

As the leading figure of the youth innovation brand at the Xuzhou Railway Maintenance Section, Fu Yancheng began to think about and plan for longer-term initiatives. He actively promoted and deeply participated in the tri-party collaborative creation and co-construction of the Xuzhou North Electrical and Mechanical Integration Master Studio, the 'Paving Stone' Party Member Innovation Workshop, and the 'Shangtie Xuzhou' Youth Innovation Studio.

In the next five years, the maintenance and repair of railway infrastructure will undoubtedly witness an intelligent revolution centered on big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence,” said Fu Yancheng confidently when talking about future plans.