Always passengers first: Train conductor leads by example
Editor's note:
More than 70 Shanghai delegates will travel to Beijing to attend the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opens on October 16. Before departure, they talked about what they expect to deliver to the congress, which will set the tune of the Party's work and guide the country's journey over the next five years.
Gu Rong works on the train from Shanghai to Fuyang during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2020.
After being elected as a member of the 12th CPC Shanghai Committee in June to attend the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China next month in Beijing, Gu Rong is quietly excited.
The 40-year-old woman is a conductor on China's world-leading Fuxing high-speed train on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail.
"This is my first time to attend the national congress," she said. "I am really excited to hear the report that will be delivered by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and the blueprint plans for the next five years, and witness the election of a new Party committee."
Gu helps an elderly man order food on the train from Shanghai to Kunming in 2021.
Gu was known by many people and won high praise from the public after her deeds were publicized on TV in 2019.
The conductor was on her knees for 26 minutes straight performing lifesaving CPR on a woman who had a heart attack on the train.
As a leader of the service brand Dongfangqing (Oriental love) of China Railway Shanghai Group Co, Gu strives to better serve passengers.
In 2017, she created a "treasure chest" for train passengers. Different from regular boxes with over-the-counter drugs, this new chest contains more items, such as masks, colored papers and crayons for children, sanitary napkins for women and magnifiers for elderly people. And more items will be included in future based on practical experience, Gu said.
"Conductors should position themselves as the host of the train and try best to make passengers feel at home," she said.
Gu delivers brochures with recruitment information for migrant workers on the train from Shanghai to Fuyang during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2020.
To meet the demands of different groups in the same environment, differentiated services are a key innovative orientation of her daily work.
On board temperature, for example, is one of the vexed questions for train conductors. Different people have various needs at different times.
Gu has made a practice based on work experiences: The temperature on the train is usually kept at 26 degrees Celsius, but during meal times it will be lowered by 1 degree to provide a comfortable dining experience. During lunch breaks, it will be up by 1 degree to prevent passengers from getting cold while napping.
For passengers aged over 80 years old, a Chinese knot will be hung on the back of their seats to remind the crew members to pay special attention to them.
For tourists, booklets with tourist information and local customs of their destinations are provided. And for passengers with carsickness, Gu will perform massage therapy she has learnt from a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine to relieve their discomfort.
Gu and her team also offer special services on different trains.
A "mobile library" for children has been launched on the Shanghai-Beijing railway. Conductors will bring the book trolley to young passengers to help them kill time.
During one Spring Festival travel rush, also known as chunyun, Gu called Party members of her team to buy books for the children of migrant workers on the Shanghai-Kunming railway as gifts.
Also, brochures with recruitment information were distributed on special trains for migrant workers at the same time.
Gu said: "If I have the opportunity, I will share my 16-year work experience with more Party members in Beijing in October so that more people can benefit from it."
