GUANGZHOU, China-Millions of Chinese faced a humanitarian crisis, as petrol and food reserves dwindled and yet more bad weather was forecast for a country paralysed by record-breaking cold and snow.

China s most important railway, Jing-guang Railway (Guangzhou-Beijing), cannot reopen to traffic for 3 to 5 days, due to the power supply cut in Hunan Province and the aggravated snowy weather in the regions along the line, according to the Guangzhou Railway Group. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has gone to Hunan to inspect and oversea the situation.

Some 500,000 people have been condemned to waiting in Guangzhou for their trains. Passenger accommodation sites in the city are in good order and there are no crowds seeking refunds.

Guangzhou Government is taking the following measure to tackle the problem:

Ticketing control

Guangzhou Railway Group has stopped selling tickets and opened all services to refund tickets yesterday.

Passenger Accommodations

The Liuhua Complex for the Canton Fair, Jinhan Convention Center and Tianhe Gymnasium has opened, in addition to the waiting shelters at the Guangzhou Railway Station Square, to accommodate passengers for whom trains have not been arranged.

Accommodation venues are cleaned every day and food and hot water are provided to passengers free of charge.

At Guangzhou Railway Station

Passengers are arranged to wait for trains in sections in the waiting lobby of Guangzhou Railway Station, according to the train timetable.

Public notification will be broadcasted to the passengers two hours before train departures.

About 2,500 police have been detached around and in Guangzhou Railway Station to keep order.

Busses for Passenger Returns

Scores of buses have been arranged at the Liuhua Complex near the railway station to pick up for free the passengers who have had tickets refunded to go back to their original locations in Guangdong Province.

The buses depart every 5 to 10 minutes.

Source From: Life of Guangzhou