BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- About 160,000 train passengers were held up Thursday in China after heavy snow paralyzed one of its major north-to-south railways.

Passengers crowd in the Beijing West Railway Station Jan. 19, 2006. More than 100,000 passengers are held up. (Xinhua photo) More photos of the story

    The Beijing West Railway Station launched a red-level emergency warning scheme after more than 100,000 passengers were held up there after a heavy snow hit Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province and a railway hub, delayed trains on the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway.

    At the Zhengzhou Railway Station, about 60,000 passengers were held up.

    From 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, snow began to fall in large areas of China, including Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai, Xi'an, Ji'nan and Lanzhou. It still keeps falling in many areas.

    Another major trunk line, the east-west Lianyungang-Lanzhou line, is also under snow and rain.

    China's Spring Festival travel peak started Saturday. Numerous migrant workers and college students are expected to go home for family reunions before the lunar new year comes, which falls on Jan. 29.

    More than 20 trains to leave the capital were held up at the Beijing West Railway Station. One train was late for more than eight hours, a station official said.

The Zijinshan overpass is covered with snow in Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan province on Jan. 19, 2006.

    The waiting hall and the station square were both full of passengers waiting to check in. And the station kept broadcasting train information. The railway repeatedly broadcast a message: "For personal and property safety of passengers, ticket holders are not allowed to enter the waiting hall till six hours before the train leaving time."

    Railway police and armed police were mobilized to maintain order at the railway station.

    The Ministry of Railways, the Beijing municipal government and the Beijing Bureau of Railways have formed a joint command center in the station to direct the arrangement of resting places and food supply to held-up passengers.

    The Ministry of Railways has asked its local bureaus to maintain 24-hour on duty to ensure the smooth running of trunk railway lines during the Spring Festival period. Enditem