The first railway built in New China was the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway. The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway is a railway trunk line connecting Chongqing and Chengdu in southwest China, connecting Baocheng in the north, Chengdu-Kunming in the west, Sichuan-Guizhou in the south, Xiangyu Railway in the east, and connecting with the Yangtze River water transport. The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway started construction on June 15, 1950, and the whole line was officially opened to traffic on July 1, 1952. This railway was the first railway built after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it was also a pioneering feat in the history of Chinese railways. The construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway was designed and constructed by China itself, and was built entirely with domestic materials, which accumulated valuable experience for the construction of the New China Railway.
The construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway encountered many difficulties and challenges. Here are some of the main difficulties and challenges:
1.Geographical complexity: Sichuan has complex topography with many mountains and rivers, making it difficult to plan and build railway lines.
2.Shortage of funds and materials: In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the economy was in difficulty, materials were scarce, and there was a lack of sufficient funds and materials to support the construction of railways.
3.Technical limitations: At that time, there was a lack of modern railway construction technology and equipment, and there was no large-scale mechanized equipment for laying rails, so railway construction mainly relied on human labor.
4.Labor shortage: During the construction of the railway, a large number of laborers were needed, but at that time, human resources were limited, and recruiting enough workers became a challenge.
5.Natural disasters: The Sichuan region is often affected by natural disasters such as **, landslides and floods, which bring additional difficulties and risks to railway construction.
6.Safety issues: During construction, workers need to face dangerous terrain such as high mountains, steep slopes and deep valleys, and construction safety becomes an important challenge.
7.Social stability: At that time, the southwest region had just been liberated, the local order was still unstable, and social security problems also had a certain impact on the construction of railways.
Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, the Communist Party of China led the people to rely on the strength of the people, overcome various difficulties, and finally successfully completed and opened to traffic on July 1, 1952, making the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway the first railway built by self-reliance after the founding of the People's Republic of China.