Russian Railways (RZD) had cut back services to China with only Moscow - Beijing services operating, but announced on February 2 that it would also suspended this link from February 3 until further notice. All tickets will be refunded.
RZD has also briefed its staff on how to identify the symptoms of the virus, and all staff in contact with passengers have been provided with personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves and antiseptics. RZD has also put doctors on duty at stations.
Mongolia’s Ulaanbaatar Railway has also suspended all passenger train services to and from China between February 1 and March 2.
Travel restrictions are in place for many places around China, especially in Wuhan where the virus originated, with this having a major effect on passenger numbers. China National Railway (CR) carried 2.147 million passengers on February 1 and 3 million passengers on February 2, an 82.2% and 74.4% decrease respectively compared with the same days last year.
As of February 1, CR had carried 11,313 tonnes of supplies to prevent and control the spread of the virus.
CR is monitoring all passengers entering and leaving stations, and strengthening its processes if a passenger onboard is found to have the virus. The railway is also increasing the amount of disinfection around coaches and stations, and improving the information being broadcast at stations.
