Landslide-disrupted railway service resumes in SW China

The first train runs through the cleared railway track in Zunyi, Guizhou province, at 18:57, May 7, 2016 after 17-hour suspension. [Photo/IC]

GUIYANG - The railway service on a major line linking southwest China's Sichuan and Guizhou provinces resumed Saturday evening after 17-hour suspension, rail authorities said.

A landslide triggered by continuous heavy rain buried 40 meters of the line at around 2 am in Tongzi County, Zunyi City of Guizhou, cutting off the line between Sanyuanba and Mengdu stations.

About 1,000 emergency workers with the help of three excavators cleared 1,300 cubic meters of mud and rocks on and around the tracks and also consolidated the tracks, the Chengdu railway bureau said.

Twenty trains made detours, returned or canceled in response to the emergency, according to the bureau.

China renewed a blue alert for rainstorms on Saturday as the torrential rain that had lashed much of the south showed little sign of weakening.

From Saturday to Sunday, heavy rain will continue in the provinces of Sichuan, Hubei, Guizhou, Hunan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Fujian, with precipitation expected to reach up to 90 millimeters, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement on its website.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Workers clear the railway track. [Photo/IC]