Female rail worker switches roles
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FORMER ARMY WOMAN SHINES IN DEMANDING JOB TRADITIONALLY PERFORMED BY MEN Coupling train carriages together is one of the most physically demanding and important jobs on a railway track and
has traditionally been considered a task only men can perform. However, after retiring from the People's Liberation Army in December 2019, Qiu Lirong changed that perception. She became
a dispatcher at the Shanghang Railway Station in Fujian province, and then spent nine months learning how to couple and decouple carriages and switch trains on a track. She eventually
became skilled enough to shunt freight carriages on her own. Over a 24-hour shift, Qiu completes multiple shunting operations, a task that requires her full strength. To be fit enough for
the grueling work schedule, she often goes to the gym after work and has qualified as a fitness trainer. During Spring Festival, she and her colleagues will dispatch about 200 freight trains
a day. "Dispatchers are like ants on freight tracks," Qiu said. "I want to be the busiest and most hardworking of them."