Sandstorms keep trains marooned

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-8-6  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

NEARLY 4,000 people have been stranded on four trains since early yesterday as a result of strong winds and sandstorms in the southern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Four inbound and outbound trains were forced to take shelter from the elements in stations waiting for conditions to improve, said a staff member at the Urumqi south railway station.

The region's weather department said that strong winds and sandstorms swept Bayinggokin Mogol Autonomous Prefecture and Hotan in south Xinjiang, pushing temperatures down to 23 degrees Celsius from Monday's 40 degrees.

About 1,800 passengers are on the No. 5808 train from Aksu to Urumqi, which has been waiting at the Yu'ergou Station since about 4am.

They have obtained water but still lacked vegetable supplies, said the train conductor, Li Qi. Li told Xinhua that train staff managed to get drinking water at the station, which is about 200 kilometers from the regional capital of Urumqi.

The area is well known for strong winds and is near a wind farm.

"We can feel the gales aboard, and the wind detector showed that the wind was measured at force 14, as powerful as a hurricane," said Li.

In addition to the Aksu-Urumqi train, the No. 2661 Lanzhou-Kashi train, the No. 887 Kashi-Urumqi train and No. 1046 Korla-Urumqi train are also stranded at Yu'ergou Station.