(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-30 00:05

BEIJING -- The number of passengers stranded in south China's Guangdong Province has risen further as the New Year's travel peak approaches, despite massive efforts to get people moving.

According to the Ministry of Railways, as of  6 a.m. Tuesday, some 199 trains had left the Guangzhou railway station, carrying 40,000 passengers away. The mass of stranded travelers, however, showed no signs of abating as the Lunar New Year neared.

Passenger build-up has been heavy along the paralyzed southern end of the North-South rail artery that links Beijing with Guangzhou, notably the Hengyang-Changsha line.

The volatile weather caused more power disruptions in southwest Guizhou and eastern Jiangxin Provinces, even as power problems were sorted out in central Hunan province. The new disruptions hampered the recovery of rail transport.

The railway and communications authorities tried to help the stranded travelers by providing food and medicine. Nanjing bus station opened more windows for ticket refunds, and heaters were running at full capacity to keep passengers warm.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) forecast that the prolonged snow and sleet would ease after February 2.

Heavy snow since mid-January, the worst in 50 years in China's southern, central and eastern areas, has forced the closure of airports and expressways, in addition to train delays.