The number of passengers stranded in south China's Guangzhou
Province has risen further as the New Year's travel peak
approaches, despite massive efforts to get people moving.
According to the Ministry of Railways, as of 6 a.m. Tuesday,
some 199 trains had left the Guangzhou railway station, carrying
40,000 passengers. The mass of stranded travelers, however, showed
no signs of abating as the Lunar New Year neared.
Passenger build-up has been heavy along the paralyzed southern
end of the North-South rail artery that links Beijing with
Guangzhou, notably the Hengyang-Changsha line.
The volatile weather caused more power disruptions in southwest
Guizhou and eastern Jiangxi Provinces, even as power problems were
sorted out in central Hunan province. The new disruptions hampered
the recovery of rail transport.
The railway and communications authorities tried to help the
stranded travelers by providing food and medicine. Nanjing bus
station opened more windows for ticket refunds, and heaters were
running at full capacity to keep passengers warm.
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast that the
prolonged snow and sleet would ease after Feb. 2.
Heavy snow since mid-January, the worst in 50 years in southern,
central and eastern areas, has forced the closure of airports and
expressways, in addition to train delays.
The havoc prompted many travelers to resort to car pools to
avoid the crush of travel and traffic woes. Some people also said
that they thought car pooling would save money and offer the chance
to make new friends. However, the China Consumer's Association
(CCA) advised travelers that it would be safer to ride with
acquaintances or friends, and it warned people to beware of the
danger of sharing cars with strangers.
It said that an exchange of identity cards between drivers and
passengers was essential and names used on web sites were not
enough.
CCA also suggested that driving hours should be limited to 10
and that personal accident insurance was advisable.
The latest figure released by the Ministry of Communications
showed highway transportation carried 53.58 million passengers on
Tuesday, 1.52 million less than a day earlier. The number is 1.6
percentage points lower year on year.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2008)