On November 19, at the rail welding yard of the Malaysia East Coast Rail Link (MCRL) project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, Gunaseelan was talking with workers in the derusting workshop.

In a long rail welding workshop in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, skilled workers were operating machines proficiently, and the highly mechanized production line was running in an orderly manner. Gunaseelan, the 40-year-old welding technology supervisor, wearing a red hard hat and gray work clothes, was carefully inspecting every aspect of the rail welding process in the workshop.

This workshop is part of the rail welding yard of the MCRL project, which is designed to be over 600 kilometers long and is being constructed by China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC). It is regarded as a "land bridge" connecting the east and west coasts of Malaysia and is expected to drive economic development in the east coast region of Malaysia and significantly improve interconnectivity along the route after completion.

Gunaseelan, from Perak, Malaysia, has been associated with CCCC since 2013, serving as a mobile flash welding machine operator on the Ampang Light Rail Transit (LRT) Extension Line and the Kuala Lumpur Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line 2 projects in Malaysia, where he accumulated extensive welding experience, laying a solid foundation for his subsequent participation in the MCRL project.

"Participating in the MCRL project exposed me to fixed flash welding for the first time," said Gunaseelan. "It was a new challenge for me and gave me the opportunity to improve my welding skills."

Reporters observed in the rail welding yard workshop that most of the employees there were local and third-country nationals like Gunaseelan, who have continuously honed their skills and improved their operations during the project's progress.

It is understood that the MCRL project is now more than halfway complete. As of October this year, the project has provided over 18,000 job opportunities in Malaysia and surrounding countries, recruited over 6,500 local employees, and collaborated with over 1,900 local enterprises. The project has trained approximately 1,100 technical personnel in Malaysia and plans to cultivate more local railway talents in the future.

Thinking about the long steel rails he has welded that will connect the east and west coasts of Malaysia, Gunaseelan feels both proud and expectant: "CCCC has given me many opportunities to grow and become a better version of myself. I want to seize these opportunities to keep learning and improving myself."

Recently, Malaysian Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong stated that upon completion, the MCRL project will connect important cities on the east and west coasts of Malaysia, establish a railway transportation trunk line in the east-west direction of the Malay Peninsula, facilitate cargo transportation and daily life for residents along the route, and promote a more balanced development between the east and west coasts of Malaysia.

He said that the MCRL project not only brings cooperation in the railway sector but also promotes local industrial development and talent cultivation. He hopes that this project will bring more investments to the local area in the future, establish more industrial parks along the railway, develop high-value-added industries, and cultivate more local railway talents to meet the development needs of more railway projects.

On November 19, at the rail welding yard of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, Gunaseelan communicated with Chinese employees about work.

On November 19, at the rail welding yard of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, Gunaseelan was talking with workers in the welding team.

On November 19, at the rail welding yard of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, Gunaseelan communicated about work through a walkie-talkie.

This is a moment of rail grinding captured at the rail welding yard of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, on November 19.

On November 19, at the rail welding yard of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, Gunaseelan was inspecting the precision of the steel rails.

On November 19, in the long steel rail storage area of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, Gunaseelan stretched out his arms with a bright smile.

This is a work scene captured in the long steel rail storage area of the MCRL project in the suburbs of Kuantan, Malaysia, on November 19.

Source: Xinhua News Agency