Typhoons this summer disrupted services 78 times on 17 of China's arterial railways, stopping operations for a total of 604 hours.

The Ministry of Railways said on its website that the Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Kowloon, Lanzhou-Xinjiang and Baotou-Lanzhou lines were affected, and the southern section of the Beijing-Guangzhou and the Yingtan-Xiamen lines suffered worst from Typhoon Bilis.

Traffic had resumed on most flood-damaged lines after repairs.

The fifth typhoon to hit China this year, Kaemi landed on the southeastern Fujian Province on Tuesday. The ministry said flood prevention measures were underway to ensure the safety of trains running through Kaemi's path.

The Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Kowloon, Zhejiang-Jiangxi and Beijing-Shanghai lines were listed as priorities in the ministry's prevention efforts.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 27, 2006)