Why does a Chinese train have to stop for 5 hours to leave when it enters Russia? Change the chassis of the train to understand

Why does the K3 international train in China have to stop for 5 hours when entering Russia? What is the truth behind this?The K3 International Train is a transcontinental long-distance train from Beijing to Moscow in China. It started in 1959 and has been through more than 60 years of ups and downs

Why does the K3 international train in China have to stop for 5 hours when entering Russia? What is the truth behind this?

The K3 International Train is a transcontinental long-distance train from Beijing to Moscow in China. It started in 1959 and has been through more than 60 years of ups and downs. It departs around 7 am every Wednesday morning, covering a total distance of over 7800 kilometers and taking six days and five nights, making it an absolute super long-distance train.

However, during the six or seven day journey, the K3 international train will stop at the border port of Erenhot in China for over 5 hours, and one of the major reasons for this is that the railway tracks between China and Russia and Mongolia are different.

Nowadays, there are three types of rails in the world, namely Standard-gauge railway, wide gauge and narrow gauge.

Among them, 1435mm standard track is the most accepted by the international community, accounting for about 60% of the world. In South Asia, India, Pakistan and other countries use 1676mm wide gauge, while in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Thailand, 1000mm narrow gauge is used. There are more than 30 kinds of wide and narrow gauge in the world. It can be seen that today's global Railway track is in full bloom, with different standards.

The trains passing through Mongolia and Russia this time use 1520mm wide gauge, which is widely used in former Soviet republics such as Russia and Ukraine. Therefore, our trains need to undergo track changing operations after arriving at the border, which takes a long time.

Speaking of which, some friends may want to ask why Railway track are divided into so many kinds? What's the point of causing so much trouble?

This is about the history of the development of railways all over the world. In the early days of the invention of railways, there was actually only one kind of railway track, that is, the Standard-gauge railway we now use. However, since the invention of railways, they have assumed a strong military function. So later, in order to prevent the enemy from using railways to quickly transport troops to their own countries, wide gauge and narrow gauge came into being.

For example, Yan Xishan, the famous king of Shanxi in history, built a 1000mm narrow gauge railway in the province during his rule in Shanxi, so that other warlords could not enter, and he could rule Shanxi for a long time.

Why did Russia and Mongolia use the time-consuming and laborious wide gauge instead of the international Standard-gauge railway? What is the historical background behind this?

Speaking of Russia's railway history, it can be traced back to 1837, when Russia, with the support of Tsar Nicholas I, built Russia's first railway, thus opening the history of railway construction in Russia.

During the railway construction process, Russians, given their vast territory, naturally planned to continuously widen and increase the comfort of the train carriages to cope with the fatigue of long-distance train travel.

In addition, the initial trains also played a very important military role. In order to transport more soldiers faster during border battles, the Russian government at that time chose to widen the railway tracks and specially developed a wide gauge railway specifically for Russia.

In addition, although Russia has a vast territory, its 3.96 million square kilometers of European territory supports 78% of Demographics of Russia's population, which can be described as an absolute national center.

However, except for the cold winter, there are basically no natural barriers to rely on in this territory. If Standard-gauge railway is used as in European countries, and one day another Napoleon or Hitler uses the railway to make a rampage, it will not take long to kill Moscow. That is too dangerous.

In short, due to the above reasons, Tsarist Russia resolutely abandoned the two railway standards of 1524mm and 1435mm in the UK during the construction of the railway, and instead developed its own suitable 1520mm track and built its own Russian style wide gauge.

Later, after the Soviet Union took over the mantle of Tsarist Russia, at first perhaps it was just because there was no money to transform and had to follow the Tsarist Russia's broad track.

But later, with the outbreak of the Patriotic War, Nazi Germany was seriously delayed in its march because the broad track of Russia was not matched with that of European countries, and the broad track also made great contributions to the victory of the Patriotic War.

The Soviet Union naturally became more fond of this "war hero", and as a result, the entire country's railways adopted Russian style wide rails. Later, when the Soviet Union disintegrated, Russia naturally did not bother to spend money and effort changing the railway tracks based on the Soviet Union.

Nowadays, the total railway mileage in Russia is 85200 square kilometers, with the vast majority being 1520mm wide gauge. This makes it difficult for cross-border trains like our K3 international train to change their chassis when entering Russia.

How is the unique chassis replacement operation for K3 international trains implemented? What is a special experience of six days and five nights from Beijing to Moscow?

After departing from Beijing, the K3 international train traveled all the way west through Inner Mongolia to reach the Erenhot Port, and the work of changing the train's chassis began nervously.

More than 70 railway maintenance workers from China Railway Bureau stationed in Erlianhao Special Section will arrange all preparations in advance on the platform, and they will start working simultaneously as soon as the train arrives.

Firstly, they will place an electric lifting machine at the bottom of the train, which will lift the train carriage carrying full passengers to a height of 1.8 meters at a constant speed. Then the maintenance personnel pulled out the 1435mm standard track train chassis with a traction rope and replaced it with a 1520mm Russian wide gauge chassis.

Afterwards, the wide gauge chassis will be installed on the train, and the entire track change process will be safely completed.

During the five hour rail change period, passengers can rest on the train, watch the very shocking rail change process, or get off early to go shopping and enjoy the scenery in the urban area of Erlianhot, which is very pleasant.

Nowadays, not only has this train not been criticized for its cumbersome process, but it has attracted countless tourists due to its rare and unique experience.

In addition, during this super long journey from Beijing, which takes six days and five nights and passes through 46 stations, we can also experience the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, the desolate desert sand dunes and exotic customs of Mongolia, as well as the long journey from the lush coniferous forests of Siberia to the bustling city of Mosco.

This special train, which was originally meant to travel between the two countries, has now become a well-known tourist route, and its ticket price has risen to 6000 yuan, making it a true luxury trip.

In the 21st century, with increasingly frequent exchanges between China and Russia, new forms of transportation have already emerged to replace this slow and leisurely train. However, this train has still been preserved, perhaps because we want to keep such a peaceful and peaceful land in our busy lives, so that we can escape the busy reality!

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