The power on a Chinese north-south railway artery, which has been cut off by snow for more than 20 days, was completely restored on Saturday.

 

 

A passenger train passes by a station of Chenzhou city on Feb. 13, 2008. The power on a Chinese north-south railway artery linking Beijing and Guangzhou, which has been cut off by snow for more than 20 days, was completely restored on February 16, 2008.

 

Three substations in Chenzhou City of central China's Hunan Province, which supply traction power to trains on the busy rail line linking Beijing and Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province, were the last to resume operation on Saturday.

 

The southern part of the line was cut off as unusually heavy snow felled power pylons in Chenzhou in Jan. 25, a time when millions of people were returning to their hometowns for the Spring Festival.

 

More than 100,000 people were stranded on the line or at stations along it, and 136 passengers trains were delayed.

 

During the time, the Ministry of Railways called in 78 diesel locomotives for the traction of stranded trains. More than 6,000 train drivers were mobilized to ensure the flow of the Beijing-Guangzhou rail line.

 

(Xinhua News Ageny February 17, 2008)