The concrete pouring pump was working on the production line, and the technician Ahmed and his colleagues followed, holding a shovel to compact and level the concrete, and then the sleeper pouring was completed. Ahmed said that sleeper production is an important part of railway construction. "The sleepers we produce will be used in the second phase of the UAE Railway. I am proud to make a contribution to the construction of the railway project."

Emirates Railway Phase II Project

After the completion of the second phase of the UAE railway project, it will play the role of the main artery of east-west traffic in the country's railway network. The project's B, C, D3 tender lines are constructed by a joint venture composed of China Railway Construction and local enterprises as the general contractor, and China Civil Engineering Group Co., Ltd. leads the construction, passing through Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and Khaimah Cape 4 emirates, extending to the port of Fujairah. The total length of the project line is 424 kilometers, covering major industrial centers, manufacturing centers, logistics centers, densely populated areas and important ports in the UAE.

The quality and precision of sleepers directly affect the running speed, driving safety and comfort of the locomotive. In order to meet construction standards and improve project efficiency, China Civil Engineering built a track laying base at the junction of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in 2020, and used Chinese domestic equipment to independently produce the sleepers required for the project. The track laying base has 8 production lines with a daily production capacity of 3,200 pieces and a maximum monthly output of 90,000 pieces.

"The sleepers we manufacture have a durability of 50 years in a saline-alkali corrosion environment and are of high quality, which is conducive to cost control and production efficiency improvement, and is not restricted by factors such as procurement, logistics and shipping," said Zhou Cheng, head of the rail project department. In February 2021, the sleeper samples passed the AREMA (2020) test of the internationally authoritative American standard of the Technical University of Munich, Germany, and the technical indicators far exceeded the American standard. "This is the first product in the overseas railway construction of a Chinese enterprise that has passed the international certification test, and it is an important breakthrough," Zhou Cheng said.

In addition to the sleepers made in China, the project team introduced "Chinese standards" as a reference in the design and construction of railway construction such as tunnels, bridges, roadbeds, and reinforced soil retaining walls, and selected the best international standards for design and construction to ensure the best project. quality.

Buzidi Taufik is a senior engineer of China Civil Engineering, mainly responsible for the tunnel rock engineering investigation. "The Chinese team strictly followed high standards during the construction process, and Chinese technology and Chinese equipment played an important role in ensuring high quality and promoting the progress of the project." Taufik said.

According to Taufik, when the T1 tunnel of the project’s Bid D section was connected, it faced severe technical challenges. Not only was the rock mass in the tunnel broken and its stability was poor, it was necessary to pass through multiple fault fracture zones, and there were also local cracks and seepage, which made the construction difficult. Large, high security risk. If the construction method or support method is not appropriate, the tunnel is prone to the drop of the arch and even the collapse of the roof. "The Chinese team did not use the traditional drilling and blasting method, but adjusted the operation method according to the actual situation under the premise of complying with international standards, such as shortening the cycle footage, strengthening support measures, using artificial auxiliary machinery, etc., which improved the operation efficiency and ensured safety. Smoothly traverse shallow buried and geologically complex sections." Taufik said.

The construction and operation of the project have created more than 17,000 local jobs and trained a large number of railway construction and management talents. Abdul Ibrahim, 30, started working on the project in 2020. He has grown from a novice in engineering construction to an experienced engineer and has been honored many times. "My Chinese colleagues and I have overcome the difficulties in design and construction together, and greatly improved the efficiency of track laying. The Chinese colleagues are very professional, and I am very happy to join the Chinese company and make my dream come true." Ibrahim said .

Shadi, CEO of the UAE Federal Railway Company, said: "Chinese companies have efficiently promoted project construction with excellent technology and quality, demonstrated strong contract performance capabilities and a responsible attitude, and pushed the UAE's infrastructure construction to a new level." He Yuting