Society

Train service suspended in Gansu after track sinks

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-30 17:42

LANZHOU - A train service was suspended for three hours in Lanzhou, capital city of Northwest China's Gansu province, Saturday after an unusually-large flow of water from a power plant disturbed the earth under a railway track.

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The accident occurred at around 8 am in Shengouqiao, 8 kilometers from Lanzhou Station, said a spokesman from the city's railway bureau.

A two-meter-deep hole formed on one side of the railway track after the thermal power plant discharged water. The tracks were undamaged.

The plant usually discharges water along a ditch. According to an investigation, the amount of water discharged Saturday was excessive, causing the water to flow out of the ditch and swamp the earth near the railway tracks.

More than 100 workers were dispatched to the site to remedy the situation, allowing train services to resume at 11:15 am.