I havestory with the railway this year.
In April, I went to Perak State in northern Malaysia for the second time, and pleasantly meet Hanif again in local locomotive production base of CRRC.
The last time I saw Hanif was in August 2015, when the production base was in trial phase. He was just graduated as a green hand. He said to me, "I want to learn Chinese technology and make trains for my country." Two years over, his wish has come true. He went to China twice to attend technical training and became the monitor of bench worker group, which was one of the eight technical groups.
At the end of the year, Hanif sent me a message saying that 40 fully automated, driverless vehicles were being produced. The order he said was taken by a consortium led by CRRC ZELC. This is the first fully automated and unmanned vehicle project led by a Chinese company. It is a milestone in “Going global” strategy of China's rail transit equipment.
In August, at the contract signing ceremony, Malaysia's National Infrastructure Corporation CEO Azmi told me: "we convinced that this consortium will provide most valuable services."
China's railway technology is frequently applied in Southeast Asia market. The east coast railway project, which started in August and built by China Communications Construction Co., signifies that China’s rail standard is entering in Malaysia market for first time. At the opening ceremony, many residents wore festive costumes, and took photos in front of exhibition panels and sand table model.
On December 21, good news came from Thailand. The opening ceremony of the first phase of China-Thailand railway cooperation project was held in the Thai government. Soon, Thailand will have its first high-speed rail line.
Two years ago, I attended the launching ceremony of this project and now I have the opportunity to witness its completion. During my time as a foreign correspondent in Southeast Asia, I personally felt that the way between Kunming and Bangkok is widening, and the hearts of two peoples is closer and closer.
(Yu Yichun)