Concert warms hearts of rail workers in remote areas

After hours spent conducting outdoor rail inspections in temperatures hovering around minus 30 C, Liu Bingbing returned on Wednesday evening to the Hailar track maintenance section's Cuogang work area, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, expecting to rest in a warm area.

Instead, he and 14 colleagues were greeted by a surprise concert inside the China Railway Harbin Group Co's maintenance depot.

Despite the simple equipment and modest venue, heartfelt singing and familiar melodies quickly filled the room, drawing enthusiastic applause and lively interaction from the exhausted workers.

The performances were part of a special cold-weather tour by Temur Zamul, meaning "steel rail" in Mongolian. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the young band staged three shows for frontline railway personnel stationed in remote areas during the Spring Festival holiday travel rush.

Made up of five workers from the Hailar track maintenance section, the group brought guitars, hand drums and melodicas to colleagues working far from home, hoping to ease fatigue and lift spirits.

"It was a really busy day and we were very tired," Liu said. "But their songs helped me relax in such a remote work area, especially in this extremely cold winter."

The band's repertoire included classic songs such as Legend as well as their original piece Youth on the Railway Tracks, which reflects the passion and dedication of railway workers safeguarding travel safety during the peak holiday period.

The Hailar track maintenance section is responsible for maintaining the Harbin-Manzhouli Railway, a key freight corridor linking China with Europe and an important route for cross-border trade.

The line handles more than six China-Europe freight trains daily and operates passenger services between Harbin in Heilongjiang province and Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia.

During the Spring Festival holiday travel rush, when winter temperatures can drop to minus 40 C, rail frost damage reaches its peak, significantly increasing the workload for line workers.

For Jin Ri, a 26-year-old track worker and member of the band, music has long been a companion. He formed bands with classmates during college and joined the Hailar track maintenance section after graduating in 2022.

"The extreme cold and tough working environment were big challenges for me, even though my hometown in Jilin province is also in Northeast China," Jin said.

"In winter, we work outdoors wearing two cotton jackets; strong winds and snow in the mountains often make it hard to even open our eyes," he added.

The other band members come from different posts within the section. They met in 2023 during a personnel talent competition and later formed Temur Zamul, bonded by a love for both music and railway life.

Because of the distance between their work sites, they rarely meet in person. To prepare for the performances, they held online rehearsals through video calls and audio production software whenever they were free after work.

Within the section, many railway crossings are manned by a single worker, and some work areas are located in remote areas with few people nearby.

Jin drew on his work experiences and the stories of colleagues to compose Youth on the Railway Tracks, which centers on themes of rail, youth, passion and responsibility. "I was very happy that we could bring the song to different work areas and provide comfort to our fellow workers before Spring Festival," Jin said.

zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn