On the morning of the 25th, the first hot-slide test for Nantong Urban Rail Transit Line 1 was completed at the Pingdong Depot of Line 1, marking the first time a Line 1 train ran on its own power.

"'Hot-slide' means the electric passenger train, without being hauled by an engineering vehicle, runs automatically for the first time using power drawn through its pantograph," explained Li Qi, project manager of the China Railway Electrification Engineering Group. The hot-slide test is a method for comprehensively checking the matched operation of systems such as rail vehicles, power supply and the catenary. It is another important milestone following the cold-slide test of the depot catenary and the energization of the depot catenary, marking the full and successful completion of the depot catenary project.

The scope of this hot-slide test covered all catenary within the Pingdong Depot (excluding the depot entry/exit lines). During the test, the train ran back and forth along the track area at low, medium and high speeds, cyclically testing various equipment indicators through the three speed changes and observing the catenary's operating condition throughout. Inspection showed that no pantograph striking, pantograph snagging or arcing occurred along the entire catenary in the hot-slide test section; the car body ran smoothly throughout, the pantograph-catenary relationship was good, equipment operated normally, and all parameters met design and specification requirements.

The successful completion of the catenary hot-slide test at the Pingdong Depot laid a solid foundation for the subsequent dynamic commissioning of electric passenger trains and provided strong support for the subsequent mainline hot-slide test, integrated commissioning and other work.