Downpour disrupts rail service in SW China

CHONGQING -- Continuous rain has disrupted rail services in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality and forced 5,040 passengers to reorganize their travel plans, local authorities said Monday.

Heavy rain destroyed the roadbed near Hetaoyuan Railway Station, a pivotal point on a 624-km railway that links Chongqing with the southwestern province of Guizhou and central China's Hunan Province, the municipal railway bureau said in a statement.

It said the damage was observed at 1:42 p.m. and 14 trains were forced to reroute over safety concerns.

The disruption affected a total of 5,040 passengers on trains traveling to and from Shanghai, Chengdu, Xiamen, Ningbo, Guilin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, it said.

The passengers had to take buses or take different rail routes to bypass the damaged sections of the railroad, the statement said.

Repair work is underway, but authorities are not certain when train services will resume.

China's meteorological authority on Monday issued a yellow alert for heavy rain in most parts of the country in the coming two days.

Thunderstorms will hit the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Anhui from Monday morning to Tuesday morning, with precipitation reaching 140 millimeters in some areas, the National Meteorological Center said on its website.

The center suggested people reduce outdoor activity and take precautions against possible floods and landslides.