China's transportation authorities have taken measures to respond to the cold wave gripping large part of the country amid the Spring Festival travel rush.
The National Meteorological Center meteorological authority renewed a blue alert for a cold wave on Thursday as freezing air is set to sweep across most parts of the country in the coming days, sending temperatures plummeting and bringing strong winds.
The passenger volume on China's traffic network remains at high level on Friday, the 25th day of the 40-day travel period, which is the biggest annual human migration in the country.
China's railway system is expected to handle 14.1 million passenger trips on Friday, with 1,496 additional trains scheduled to accommodate the surge.
The railway departments in Sichuan Province in the southwest and Henan Province in central China have intensified inspections on tracks and equipment to ensure their normal operation, while the authorities in east China's Jiangxi Province conducted functional trials of electric snow melting devices on key sections.
In the aviation sector, a total of 18,766 flights are scheduled across the country for Friday.
The China Civil Aviation Administration has been closely monitoring the flight operations, in order to dynamically and timely adjust the flight plans according to the changing weather. It has also strengthened coordination with other departments to avoid massive flight delays.
As of 07:00 on Friday, a total of 54 road sections in nine provincial-level regions including Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Xizang and Xinjiang had been closed due to snow and icy roads brought by the cold wave, according to the Ministry of Transport.
Among them, 21 closed sections are on main routes, involving 14 expressways.
In addition, 169 toll stations have been closed, and the time for reopening has not been announced.
The cold wave brought heavy snow and temperature drop to Siziwang Banner of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Thursday, causing snowdrift on several national-level and provincial-level roads.
The thick snow cover on roads trapped vehicles and personnel. Local traffic policemen used shovels to clear the snow, and mobilized large equipment to tow the stranded cars. Finally, 76 vehicles and 93 people were successfully rescued.
Chinese authorities respond to cold wave amid Spring Festival travel rush
