RAILWAY operations in China’s Henan Province have returned to almost normal levels following catastrophic flooding last week when 12 people were killed on a commuter train.  

On July 29, Zhengzhou Bureau Group Corporation operated 324 pairs of high-speed trains, some 80% higher than the scheduled number. Only the ZhengTai high-speed line, which ran a smaller number of trains, is yet to return to a full service.   

Since the heavy rainfalls caused flooding on July 20, there has been disruption on the high-speed network through the Zhengzhou area of the Beijing - Guangzhou, Zhengxi, Zhengxu, Zhengtai, Zhengfu and other lines that were flooded. 

Signal power supply equipment was damaged while suspension of services meant trains were not in the correct locations when required to restart. When the flooding began, trains were stopped or returned to their starting point. More than 1.5 million stranded passengers were transferred safely from the railway during the period.  

At the same time 32,000 staff carried out post-rain patrols and repaired damaged lines and equipment so that services could restart as soon as possible.