Aerial "Little Flying Heroes" Safeguard Spring Festival Travel on the Quzhou-Jiujiang Railway: Science and Technology Daily, Page 7

　　

     At 7:30 AM on January 17, by Meishan No. 1 Tunnel on the Quzhou-Jiujiang Railway in Jiangxi Province, Wu Weilan, team leader of the Flying Squadron at the Jingdezhen Road and Bridge Workshop of the Yingtan Maintenance Depot, CR-Nanchang, was inspecting potential falling rocks using drones, alongside his colleagues.

　　As one of the first to obtain a drone pilot's license in the Depot, Wu and his team have accumulated nearly 200 hours of safe flight time. Their task is to constantly monitor the 200,000-square-meter area around Meishan Tunnel, where over 100,000 limestone rocks of varying sizes pose a risk. They identify and remove potential hazardous stones to ensure safe railway operations. Although drones offer a wide field of view and precision and are minimally affected by terrain and environment, the task of identifying rocks at risk of falling across such a vast and complex area still demands keen eyesight and careful attention from the drone operators.

　　As the drone shifts its perspective, Wu Weilan sharply notices every detail, quickly building and updating a three-dimensional topographic map of the mountain in his mind: the steep cliff on the left, weathered rocks in the middle, and the damaged slope protection near the tunnel top. These are all key points for monitoring and inspection.