Government and Policy

    China's railway system is put to the test

    By Bao Daozu (China Daily)
    Updated: 2011-01-24 06:53
    Large Medium Small

    As millions take to the rails, bad weather awaits

    BEIJING - The national railway system is going through a harsh test, with increasing pressure from passengers who lined up all night for a train ticket and the icy weather in the southern part of the country that could disrupt transport at any time.

    A flood of people have waited in line before ticket windows at Beijing's several railway stations over the weekend, and tickets for all trains leaving Beijing were sold out in only 30 minutes after being put on sale on Saturday morning, the Beijing Times reported.

    Tickets sold over the weekend are for ordinary trains leaving in the few days before the eve of the Spring Festival, which falls on Feb 3 this year.

    A similar ticket-buying spree is expected to come again on Jan 27, when tickets for high-speed trains leaving in those few days ahead of the traditional family-reunion holiday are put on sale.

    Meanwhile, the growth of railway passenger numbers has been speeding up day by day from Jan 22, with a remarkable rise of passenger volume compared with last year, the Ministry of Railways said on Sunday.

    The latest data shows that nearly 5.28 million passengers took trains on Saturday, the fourth day of the travel peak season this year - up 23.5 percent compared with the corresponding day last year, the ministry said.

    The railway ministry has vowed to sack any staff found scalping train tickets or helping scalpers.

    "We'll immediately terminate the employment contract with any offenders," Vice-Minister of Railways Wang Zhiguo said at a news conference over the weekend in Beijing.

    The ministry has invited more than 1,000 people to supervise the ticket sales nationwide, he said.

    More than 1,800 scalpers have been arrested in recent joint efforts between the railway ministry and the Ministry of Public Security.

    In addition to fears of being unable to secure a ticket, the public is also worried about the freezing weather that has been lingering in the southern part of China since the New Year began.

    On Sunday, parts of Southwest China, southern Hunan province, western Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and Hainan province had snow or sleet. For some other areas in the country, snow has stopped, but the roads are still icy.

    In the next three days, snowy weather will weaken in most regions, but the eastern areas in Southwest China will continue to see more rain and snow, according to a forecast by the national meteorological authority.

    To avoid the travel disaster seen in early 2008 when unprecedented levels of heavy snow and freezing rain hit the southern part of the country, bringing traffic to a standstill at the peak holiday season, several ministries said they will work together this year to make sure people can arrive home on time.

    Huang Ming, vice-minister of public security, said at the press conference on Saturday that expressways will not be blocked to traffic unless there is no alternative. In 2008, several expressways were closed by traffic police for fears of increasing traffic accidents on icy roads, but the shutdown made thousands of passengers stuck on road and increased pressure on railways.

    Wang Zhiguo also vowed that the ministry will allocate more manpower for railway safety inspection and deploy devices to remove ice and snow to prevent railways being paralyzed by icy rains or snow.

    Railway stations will also prepare enough food and water for stranded passengers, he said.

    "We'll try to make people's journey safe to ensure them a good Spring Festival holiday," Wang said.

    Tan Zongyang and Xinhua contributed to this story.

    China Daily

    (China Daily 01/24/2011 page4)

    国产乱人伦Av在线无码| 最近2019免费中文字幕视频三 | 亚洲av日韩av无码| 久久精品中文无码资源站| 台湾无码一区二区| 欧美日韩毛片熟妇有码无码 | 亚洲日韩精品无码专区网站| 亚洲AV无码一区二区二三区软件| 中文字幕亚洲第一在线| 乱人伦中文视频在线| 国产真人无码作爱免费视频| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区系列| 中文字幕在线免费看线人| 久久婷婷综合中文字幕| 中文午夜乱理片无码| 亚洲精品无码av天堂| 亚洲Av无码专区国产乱码不卡| 成在人线AV无码免观看麻豆| 久久无码人妻一区二区三区| 人妻系列无码专区无码中出| 亚洲成a人片在线观看无码| 国产成人麻豆亚洲综合无码精品| 人妻无码中文字幕免费视频蜜桃| 亚洲精品无码永久中文字幕| 亚洲中文字幕久久精品无码喷水| 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区在线观看 | 在线综合亚洲中文精品| 无码的免费不卡毛片视频| 免费无码国产在线观国内自拍中文字幕 | 久久久噜噜噜久久中文福利| 欧美巨大xxxx做受中文字幕| 色综合久久无码中文字幕| 久久亚洲精精品中文字幕| 中文字幕成人免费视频| 亚洲国产午夜中文字幕精品黄网站 | 欧洲无码一区二区三区在线观看 | 国产乱子伦精品无码码专区| 在线看无码的免费网站| 国产仑乱无码内谢| 日韩亚洲欧美中文在线|