Having retired in 2017, Lyu Shunping said he is quite content that his son, Lyu Xiang, is continuing the family's legacy as a locomotive driver.

In 2016, two China Railway High-Speed trains, completely built in China, successfully passed by each other at a speed of 420 kilometers per hour, a world record.

With automatic signals inside locomotives, drivers can control operation speeds accurately even in foggy days; the protective monitoring devices supported by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System can help maintain a safe distance between trains operating on the same line.

"Technology progress in recent years not only allows locomotive drivers to drive more easily, but more importantly, offers passengers safer travels," Lyu Xiang said.

Like his father and grandfather did before their retirement, Lyu Xiang often drives between Zhengzhou and Beijing. The route is now traversed by a variety of locomotives, with the fastest – the high-speed Fuxing bullet trains – taking as little as 2.5 hours to go through the length.

The youngest generation of locomotive drivers, however, is setting his sights beyond his family's route. Lyu Xiang said he hopes one day to drive the Zhengzhou-Europe Railway Express, which extends over 10,000 kilometers west to reach Hamburg, Germany.

Meanwhile, he said he is grateful for what Zhengzhou and China's trains have brought to the Lyu family.

"The trains have not only let the three generations of my family have a fulfilling career and live a satisfactory life, but also allowed us and other people to go to other places and see a bigger world in a more convenient way as they become increasingly fast," he said.