Chapter 36

Sure enough, the competition questions had been changed!

Zhang Jianguo's words were like a bomb, causing a huge uproar. The contestants who had been secretly pleased with stealing the questions now looked ashen-faced. They had paid a heavy price to get the competition questions, some even at the cost of their bodies!

The senior engineers sitting in the front row had been accustomed to such games over the years. Not only had they gained wealth and beauty, but they also lived carefree lives. They had thought the new Director Zhang would still need their help with the questions, but to their surprise, he quietly obtained the competition questions from a colleague at the Liaodong Railway Bureau!

For those contestants who had no way to get the questions, this was undoubtedly a great piece of news. They clapped excitedly, refusing to stop even when their hands hurt. They were delighted and proud to have such a leader in the passenger transport system!

Zhang Jianguo raised his hand to signal for the applause to stop, then continued, "Although I don't know the specific questions, the principle remains the same. My requirement was that the questions should focus on passenger transport regulations, with other regulations and systems as supplementary, in a ratio of 70% to 30%. As technical elites in the passenger transport system, you should not only master the necessary regulations but also the knowledge related to passenger transport business. The competition will test your overall technical and business qualities!"

The enthusiastic applause gradually subsided. Zhang Jianguo solemnly announced, "The Fifth Technical Performance Competition of the Songjiang Railway Bureau Passenger Transport System now begins! Please, the invigilators, start your work, and all other irrelevant personnel, please leave the venue!"

After the team leaders and coaches from each division left, Zhang Jianguo opened the sealed envelope on the spot and took out the theoretical and practical questions for the train conductor, business officer, and train attendant groups. This competition combined theoretical and practical tests, lasting 2.5 hours, or 150 minutes. After the host announced the competition rules, the three senior engineers from the Passenger Transport Department, with mixed feelings, took the questions from Director Zhang and copied them onto the temporary blackboards set up for each group.

The contestants immediately began copying the questions onto their blank answer sheets and started answering. The host had already explained that the questions were numerous, and the contestants should answer the ones they knew first, otherwise, they might run out of time. They copied and answered each question, leaving blank the ones they didn't know or were unsure about, and moved on to the next.

Not only did they need to answer quickly, but their handwriting also had to be neat, which was a significant test of their skills. Xiao Yuanhang was undoubtedly an expert in this regard, answering quickly and with neat handwriting. The questions, as Director Zhang had said, were 70% about passenger transport regulations and operational standards, which posed no difficulty for the contestants who had made it to the Railway Bureau competition. However, the 30% of related regulations and knowledge questions were full of surprises, causing many contestants to sweat profusely!

Xiao Yuanhang found that the 30% of related regulations and knowledge questions were not only surprising but also extremely challenging. The questions did not follow the standard regulations but instead asked obscure questions, showing that the expert who set the questions had a very active mind and a casual approach. This made it difficult for the contestants to answer, as such questions were not found in the regulations!

One of the theoretical questions was about fire and explosion safety on passenger trains: "Why is open flame prohibited on passenger trains, but stoves are allowed in dining cars?"

Xiao Yuanhang believed that this question would stump many contestants, as everyone knew the answer in their hearts but didn't know how to express it. Later, he found out that the answers were varied: some said it was for cooking for the crew and passengers; some said it was allowed in dining cars; and the funniest answer was that if stoves weren't allowed, why have dining cars at all? All these answers were marked as incorrect due to their inaccuracy.

Xiao Yuanhang, with his extensive experience in safety work, didn't know the exact answer either, but after a moment's thought, he confidently answered: "Because the stove in the dining car is a safe source of fire!" It turned out that out of the 45 contestants, only Xiao Yuanhang answered correctly.

The practical part of the test included even more obscure questions. One of them was about emergency braking on passenger trains: "According to the technical regulations, there is a rule that on long downhill slopes, the wind gauge must be checked first. If the wind gauge needle has dropped by 1 kilogram from the set pressure, the emergency brake valve must not be used again. Why? What does a wind gauge pressure of 6 kilograms mean?"

In the passenger transport system, the equipment is used, and there is no need to understand the technical principles. This question, however, required technical knowledge. The emergency brake valve on passenger trains is used in emergencies to stop the train, but the reason why it cannot be used again if the wind gauge needle has dropped by 1 kilogram on long downhill slopes is something that passenger transport crew members do not need to know. They just need to follow the rules strictly. However, this question appeared in the competition.

The braking system of railway trains relies on high-pressure air. Before the train departs, the train inspectors conduct a wind gauge pressure test. The specified wind pressure for passenger trains is 6 kilograms, and for freight trains, it is 5 kilograms. In the 1990s, the international standard pressure unit KPA (kiloPascal) was adopted, with 600 KPA for passenger trains and 500 KPA for freight trains.

As for the first question, Xiao Yuanhang didn't know why the emergency brake valve should not be used again if the wind gauge pressure had dropped by 1 kilogram, but he knew the answer to the second question: what does a wind gauge pressure of 6 kilograms mean? In a previous life, while riding a train, he had asked a train inspector about the meaning of the 600 KPA wind pressure that the train conductor and driver always mentioned over the radio. The inspector explained that the train's braking system uses air pressure to push the brake shoes against the wheels, and 600 KPA means that the pressure on the contact surface between the brake shoes and the wheels is 600 KPA, which is equivalent to 6 kilograms.

From this, Xiao Yuanhang deduced the answer to the first question: the wind pressure of passenger trains is 1 kilogram higher than that of freight trains to ensure the absolute safety of passenger trains. On long downhill slopes, to achieve emergency braking, a stronger braking force is needed. When the wind pressure has dropped by 1 kilogram from the set pressure of 6 kilograms, meaning the pressure is only 5 kilograms, it is insufficient to safely stop the passenger train. Therefore, it is stipulated that the emergency brake valve should not be used again in such a situation, even in an emergency. If the emergency brake valve is used, the train may not stop and could run out of braking power, leading to a loss of control and potentially causing a serious accident!

It turned out that Xiao Yuanhang's deduction was correct!

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