Traffic is slowly getting better in southern Chinese provinces
hit by the worst winter weather in five decades. Thousands of
passengers, however, are still trapped on icy highways, the
Ministry of Public Security said on Wednesday.
"The situation is improving based on information sent from the
provinces," said ministry spokesman Wu Heping at a press conference
here. "One of the key tasks now is to reopen the expressway linking
Beijing with Zhuhai City in the southern Guangdong Province."
The north-south trunk road remained blocked at several
sections.
A 116-kilometer section of the expressway in the central Hunan
Province are still frozen and vehicles are moving at a speed of
five km an hour, Wu said.
"So far, about 6,400 vehicles with more than 10,000 passengers
are still on the road," he said.
The whole of Hunan has been gearing up to restore traffic. More
than 100,000 soldiers and armed policemen, 20,000 government
officials, 7,000 police, 2,400 transport officials and 40,000
citizens are working to de-ice the expressway.
"We have to prepare for tougher situations as the weather
forecast says it will continue raining and snowing for the next
seven days in Hunan," Wu said.
The section in Hubei Province to the north of Hunan has
witnessed about 5,000 vehicles moving slowly over a distance of 25
km.
Meanwhile, the expressway in Guangdong south to Hunan has about
a 20-km stretch of frozen surface. Vehicles heading south on the
expressway have begun moving forward at a snail's pace while the
lanes heading north remain closed. They are expected to reopen on
Wednesday.
Along the highway linking the eastern Anhui Province with the
neighboring Zhejiang Province, about 6,000 vehicles are still
trapped with more than 20,000 people, Wu said.
In the eastern Jiangxi Province, about 8,000 vehicles and 20,000
people are stranded along the highway linking its two major cities,
Nanchang and Jiujiang.
Almost all expressways through the southwestern Guizhou Province
have been closed since Tuesday.
Traffic in the southwest Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has
been totally restored, Wu said. About 992,000 officers are
directing traffic nationwide, he said.
Several key rail lines saw delays or closures. The
Beijing-Guangzhou rail line was most affected, with 62 trains
stranded, according to the ministry.
The airport in Changsha, Hunan's provincial capital, closed
again on Wednesday morning.
Unusual freezing weather, heavy snow, sleet and ice rain have
hit 17 provinces in China during the past week and disrupted the
plans of millions of people on their way home to celebrate the
Spring Festival.
The Ministry of Railways predicted that the railways would carry
an unprecedented 178.6 million passengers during the travel peak
from Jan. 23 to March 2, up from 156 million last year.
The winter storm had claimed 38 lives by Wednesday, according to
the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2008)