By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-14 07:35

The massive earthquake that devastated Sichuan on Monday has disrupted road, rail and air transport in the southwestern province.

However, four out of the five rail lines cut off after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit have now reopened to aid deliveries, Wang Yongping, spokesman for the Ministry of Railways, said.

The quake caused a landslide that buckled lines on the Baoji-Chengdu railway and derailed a 40-car freight train at 11 pm on Monday in Huixian county, Gansu province, he said yesterday.

The train, which included 13 tankers full of gasoline, then caught fire, injuring the driver. It was still burning at 3:40 pm yesterday, Wang said.

Firefighters, who had moved 6 km from the site for fear the tankers could explode, resumed work to extinguish the fire yesterday.

The Baoji-Chengdu railway was the worst hit of the five railways, and remained closed yesterday.

As well as landslides at four locations and buckled rail tracks, technicians also found that two rail bridges had also been jolted from their original positions.

Thirty-four rail stations on the line were unable to be contacted after the railway electricity network was disabled.

The situation has left eight passenger trains stranded on the railway since Monday afternoon, with more than 6,000 passengers on board.

"We are gathering resources, including 30 electric generators from Guizhou and 40 diesel locomotives from Chengdu, Wuhan and Guangzhou and sending them to where they are needed," Wang said.

Electric generators and diesel locomotives are expected to help trains drive slowly toward nearby railway stations, so that passengers can be evacuated, he said.

By 10 am yesterday, 787 passengers of the K291 train from Shanghai to Chengdu had been evacuated aboard 20 buses from Guangyuan South railway station, he said.

Two passenger trains between Puji and Chengdu have reached nearby stations, while five other trains were still en route at a snail's pace, he said.

"In total, 31 passenger trains and 149 freight trains were stuck because of the quake," Wang said.

Four Beijing-Chengdu trains have stopped at Beijing West railway station, and two others have been cancelled.

Wang also said four trains carrying more than 3,000 rescue workers have been dispatched to quake-hit areas, while a further 22 trains are being prepared to go to Sichuan with loads of tents, fuel oil, medicine and food.

Air traffic

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said yesterday that Sichuan province's nine major airports, except for Chengdu Shuangliu, were operating normally.

The powerful tremor disabled Chengdu Shuangliu's control tower and radar system, the CAAC said in a news release.

Adopting emergency measures, the civil aviation administration has employed radios to coordinate air traffic, it said.

On Monday, 169 arrivals and 108 departures were affected.

Flights between Chengdu and major cities like Beijing and Shanghai are also proceeding as normal. These flights will be given priority together with flights carrying disaster-relief materials and crew, the news release said.

Yesterday, Chengdu-bound flights left Beijing Capital International Airport every 40 minutes, airport spokeswoman Li Xiaomei said.

Road traffic

The earthquake has also damaged highways, including the Chengdu-Mianyang freeway, the Ministry of Transport said yesterday.

The highway between Dujiangyan and Wenchuan is still blocked, and the Mianyang-Guangyuan highwaywas also still closed as of yesterday.

Disabled telecom systems meant the condition of highways leading to Wenchuan county remained unknown.