Special
Report: Spring Festival Special
2008
Special Report:
China's war on snow
havoc
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Passengers queue to get into Changsha
railway station in Changsha, capital of south China's Hunan Province, Feb.
10, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's transport authorities are gearing up
for the post-Lunar New Year holiday travel peak on Tuesday amid forecasts of
fresh snow.
Most of south China would see moderate snow and rain in the next three
days, while sleet and snow were expected for the already hard-hit southwestern
province of Guizhou, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said Monday.
It warned the icy weather could cause problems during the travel peak.
The number of passengers surged in major railway and bus stations on Monday
as millions of people journeyed back to work.
The State Council called on travelers to adjust their plans to avoid the
peak on Monday. Roads should be cleared to ensure safety in the event of rain
and snow.
The Ministry of Railways had 264 extra trains on standby to tackle the
travel peak and 191 trains from northeast China were heading for the central
Wuhan, Nanchang and Chengdu cities from where most migrant workers depart.
Major railway stations had opened more ticket booths for 24-hour sales to
cope with the peak, according to the ministry.
The railways carried 3.99 million passengers on Sunday, 480,000more than a
day earlier, according to ministry figures.
The post-Spring Festival railway transport peak saw more than five million
passengers in one day last year and more were expected this year, said a
ministry spokesperson.
The travel rush began to hit China's roads on Monday, with 44.6 million
people traveling by bus, an increase of 16.5 million from the previous day, the
Ministry of Communications said Monday.
Transport authorities have prepared more than 700,000 buses to deal with
the rush. More windows and longer opening times had been arranged to allow
easier ticket purchases.
About 80 percent of inter-provincial bus lines had resumed after snow and
icy weather caused severe disruption last week. No passengers had been reported
stranded, said the ministry.
The travel rush comes as China's transport systems are creaking back to
life after freak cold and ice storms hit swathes of the country, causing
billions of dollars in damage and killing at least 70 people.
Transportation remains grim as travel peak looms
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua)-- China's government task force
tackling snow snarl alerted on Sunday night the transportation situation
remained grim as the new travel peak loomed, despite of the initial victory
achieved.
We have reaped the final victory of ensuring smooth transportation amid snow after major highways and railways have resumed normal order, the Disaster Relief and Emergency Command Center under the State Council said in a notice. Full story
Traffic basically back to
normal
BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Traffic in disaster-hit China
has largely been back to normal, with only a few highway sections still being
closed due to frozen road surface, the Ministry of Public Security said here
Saturday.
Traffic was smooth on the Beijing- Zhuhai expressway, a
north-south trunk road. Full story
China's snowstorm-hit areas recovering
gradually
BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Life in
snowstorm-hit areas in south and east China provinces is gradually returning to
normal as disrupted transport and power supply being resumed and living
conditions improved day by day, according to the latest release on Saturday by
the disaster relief and emergency command center under the State Council. Full story
All affected airports reopen after
snow disaster
GUIYANG, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- An airport in the
southwestern province of Guizhou resumed operation on Friday, marking the
normalization of China's entire airport services after disruption by snowstorms.
Liping airport in Guizhou reopened at noon after ice
thawed from runways and other weather conditions recovered, according to the
airport administration. Full story
