BEIJING - The Chinese government's task force tackling snow snarl alerted on Sunday night the transportation situation remained grim as the return travel peak looms, despite of remarkable easing.
Soldiers of Armed Police clear up piles of snow at the Hongqiao airport in Shanghai, Feb. 2, 2008. [Xinhua]
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"We have managed to ease transportation amid snowy weather and major highways and railways have resumed normal order," the Disaster Relief and Emergency Command Center under the State Council said in a notice.
The overall situation, however, remained very grim as the nation braces for Lunar New Year return traffic peak, the task force said.
Early preparation should be made to guarantee smooth transportation in the face of another round of precipitation and snow in south and southwest China in the next 10 days, it warned.
China is expected to see another peak of railway traffic since Feb. 11, the six day of the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, said the Ministry of Railway on Sunday.
Post-Spring Festival railway traffic peak saw more than five million passengers daily last year and we expect more passenger flow this year, predicted the ministry.
Highway transportation in many areas hampered by icy and snowy weather has returned to normalcy. About 28.1 million people have been carried by expressways and trunk highways on Sunday, up 6.05 million over the previous day.
Some 4,291 flights carrying 535,000 passengers took off on Sunday, 23,000 more than a day earlier.
