About 160,000 train passengers were held up on Thursday after
heavy snow delayed trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, one of
the country's major north-to-south rail routes.
The Beijing West Railway Station issued a red-level emergency
warning after more than 100,000 passengers were held up there after
heavy snow hit Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province
and a major railway hub that connects north and south China.
At the Zhengzhou Railway Station, about 60,000 passengers were
affected.
From 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, there was heavy snowfall in many areas
including Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xi'an, Jinan and Lanzhou.
More than 20 trains scheduled to leave Beijing West Railway
Station were delayed as a result. One train was delayed for more
than eight hours, a station official said.
The waiting hall and the station square were bursting at the
seams with passengers anxious to check in.
Railway police and armed police were mobilized to maintain order
at the station.
The Ministry of Railways, the Beijing municipal government and
the Beijing Bureau of Railways have set up a command center in the
station to manage resting places and food supplies to affected
passengers.
Another major trunk line, the east-west Lianyungang-Lanzhou
line, has also been affected by snow and rain.
China's
Spring Festival peak travel period started on Saturday.
Millions of migrant workers and college students are rushing home
for their family reunions on January 29.
(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2006)