The 898.6-kilometer railway line links Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Continuous heavy rain along the track, most of which goes through mountainous terrain, triggered several severe landslides, cutting off traffic early yesterday. Sixty-six train journeys -- 33 in each direction -- were cancelled Monday.

"The workers are working against the clock to finish the tough task, removing huge amounts of mud and rocks from the track," said an official surnamed Shi with the Liuzhou Railway Bureau. The bureau, based in Liuzhou in Guangxi, is in charge of the Nankun line.

"Transport can completely return to normal tomorrow," he said Monday.

The bureau sent about 900 members of staff to clear away the huge amounts of mud and rocks, which were as thick as 6 meters in certain spots, but Shi said the work did not progress at a satisfactory speed.

This should be attributed partly to the heavy rain and the dangerous geological conditions, which are prone to new landslides forming, said Shi.

"But the lack of temporary workers is also an important reason," he said.

"The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is really a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there are far fewer passengers these days, so there is no heavy additional pressure on tomorrow's transport. But, on the other hand, it is really hard to find enough temporary workers to clear away the mud and rocks in good time."

Ticket officials in both Kunming and Nanning yesterday said there would be enough seats and sleeping cabins available on today's trains along the Nankun line to satisfy demand.

Since the rainy season in the areas along the line has only started, Shi said the bureau will continue to watch out for future geological disasters.

The Nankun line began to operate on November 30, 1997. It cut short the traditional land route by 360 to 680 kilometers, meaning resources from Southwest China could reach harbors in Guangxi more quickly for export.

By the end of last year, over 28 million tons of material had been transported along the line.

(China Daily June 10, 2003)