In the early morning of July 5, 2026, the first phase of 144km large track maintenance machinery rail grinding construction of Laos section of China Laos Railway was successfully completed. The Laos section of the China Laos Railway is 422km long. Since its opening at the end of 2021, the passenger and freight traffic has continued to grow. The rails have been subjected to long-term high-strength rolling, and some sections have wave abrasion and surface fatigue. In the past, the accuracy of maintenance was limited by manual labor and small machinery. This time, China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. and Lao Zhong Railway Co., Ltd. jointly drove a large rail grinding car into Laos for the first time, and used the skylight period during night driving to perform millimeter level fine cutting on the line.

Millimeter level refinement under the skylight at night

The polishing car is equipped with dozens of grinding heads, which can accurately control the amount of rail grinding within a range of 0.1 millimeters during operation. Minor damage areas are polished 4 to 6 times in a loop, while areas with more severe diseases are densified to 8 to 10 times. Technical personnel monitor the parameters throughout the process and implement a one zone, one policy. The processed steel rail profile restoration standard, optimized wheel rail matching relationship, significantly improved train operation smoothness and passenger comfort, while effectively reducing operating noise and vibration. The expected service life of the steel rail can be extended by 3 to 5 years - known as the regeneration treatment of steel rails in the industry.

Strictly control risks to ensure safety and smoothness

Chen Jin, the head of the polishing construction team at the Luang Prabang Maintenance Management Center, introduced that a coordination meeting is held before each construction to confirm the daily work content, personnel division, and safety risks one by one, ensuring seamless connection between each process and controllable safety risks. Throughout the entire phase, 41 night skylights were utilized for off peak operations to minimize interference with daytime passenger and freight transportation. The operation and maintenance personnel from both China and Laos were mixed and deployed side by side, while the Chinese personnel also took on the responsibility of on-site mentoring.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

From opening up operations to fine maintenance

Ouyang Yongquan, deputy director of the Enterprise Alliance Department of Laos China Railway Co., Ltd., said that the 144km first phase grinding was successfully completed, filling the gap in the application of rail grinding technology for large-scale track maintenance machinery in Laos section of the China Laos Railway. According to the established plan, the second phase of polishing operations will be launched in August this year, and more road sections will undergo systematic refinement. This marks a key step for the China Laos Railway from its completion, opening to traffic and daily operation to the fine maintenance of the whole life cycle, and provides solid equipment guarantee for the continuous release of transport capacity of this golden channel of China Laos interconnection.Editor/Yang Meiling