China's railway watchdog has warned passengers not to worsen
overcrowding at stations by flocking to the country's
slowly-recovering rail network.
Rail shipping capacity on the southern section of the
Beijing-Guangzhou trunk rail line is gradually recovering from the
snow snarl but remains limited, said Wang Yongping, Ministry of
Railways spokesman, on Saturday.
He said stranded passengers must be sent on their way first,and
advised others not to swarm train stations in case of causing
traffic jams or wasting their time.
At least 1.4 million passengers in Guangzhou were still waiting
to leave on trains at 6 a.m. on Saturday, the ministry said.
Wang said the 1.4 million people could board home-bound trains
before the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, which is
five days away.
The worst freezing weather the country has seen in the past five
decades has wreaked traffic havoc across central and southern China
since mid-January.
The local government has spared no effort to disperse the
held-up passengers, but many had rushed back to the station since
Wednesday after hearing railway traffic is resuming, trying to get
a train home for family reunion ahead of the festival.
"The railways can't go beyond their capacity to meet everyone's
need," Wang said. "We have to say sorry to those who couldn't get
tickets."
Meanwhile, authorities urged on Saturday that local tourism
watchdogs must prevent tourists from entering snow-hit regions and
release weather information in a timely fashion.
Business has been halted at scenic spots in regions badly hit by
the cold spell, the national office in charge of holiday affairs
said.
The Ministry of Railways said it has dispatched 18 special
trains with relief materials, such as snow-removing equipment,
power net-mending tools, instant food and quilts, in the past four
days.
On Saturday, 125,000 garments, quilts and sleeping bags, as well
as 676,000 candles, were loaded on a special train in Beijing and
rushed to the central Hunan Province, one of the most snow-ravaged
regions.
The snow has inflicted a total economic loss of about 53.9
billion yuan (7.5 billion U.S. dollars) over the past three weeks,
the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday.
(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2008)