Life of Guangzhou - Typhoon Bilis Blocks Transportation in Guangzhou

Railway passengers get stranded at the Guangzhou railway station in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province July 16, 2006. Rainstorms caused by typhoon Bilis delay the Beijing-Guangzhou train, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at the train station. 48 people are killed across China with more than 100 missing as Bilis continues to rage. [Xinhua]

Flooding in Lechang caused by 'Typhoon Bilis' cut the main Beijing-Guangzhou railway line.

At least 42 trains that depart from Guangzhou Railway Station, or pass through the Beijing-Guangzhou railway line via Guangzhou, have been canceled and some departed trains turned back.

With the increase in delayed trains, the number of passengers requesting a refund rose sharply. All the windows in the ticket office of the station were used for refunding tickets and the No.7 Waiting Room was also used as a temporary refunding office. There were altogether 43 windows used for refunding. By 8 p.m. last night, 45,000 tickets had been refunded.

Yesterday afternoon, over 10 flights at Baiyun Airport were delayed, including flights to Beijing, Dalian, Taiyuan, Harbin and Meixian. In order to ease the transport pressure, China Southern Airlines added 10 more flights from Guangzhou to Wuhan (3315/6K) and from Guangzhou to Changsha (3388/9K, 3380/1k, 3313/4K, 3375/6K), which transported about 1,680 passengers.

(Translated by Nicole and proofread by Alan Devey, www.lifeofguangzhou.com)