Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has urged re-function of the quake-damaged Baoji-Chengdu Railway as soon as possible.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    XI'AN, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has urged re-function of the quake-damaged Baoji-Chengdu Railway as soon as possible.

    The railway is the lifeline linking northwest China to its southwest provinces, and related departments and workers should make all-out efforts to resume function of the railway as soon as possible, Zhou said.

    Zhou made the remarks Thursday after he inspected a tunnel near Huixian county of Gansu Province, where a 40-car freight train derailed during Monday's quake that rocked southwestern Sichuan Province, paralyzing the railway linking Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, and Baoji City in Shaanxi Province.

    The train, carrying 500 tons of gasoline, caught fire and burned for about 40 hours before it went out at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

    Zhou urged repair workers to guard against gasoline explosion and possible quake-induced landslides, while making every effort to pull the damaged train out of the tunnel and repair the railway and the tunnel so that the line could resume function earlier.

    More than 50,000 people are feared dead in Sichuan alone after Monday's earthquake, with confirmed death toll in the province hitting 19,509 by 4 p.m. Thursday.