Rail workers rewarded for aid to trapped passengers

A photo shows railway workers who helped trapped passengers on a train stranded by floodwaters in Beijing's outskirts for nearly four days. [Photo/Beijing Daily]

Thirty railway workers have been rewarded after they helped trapped passengers who were on a train stranded by floodwaters in Beijing's outskirts for nearly four days.

According to China Railway Lanzhou Group, each staff member on train K1178 received 10,000 yuan ($1,395) as a reward.

The train, which departed from Yinchuan, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, and was bound for Beijing, had 841 passengers and 30 staff members onboard. It left Yinchuan on July 29 and was scheduled to arrive in Beijing at about noon the next day.

However, it got stuck in western Beijing's flooded Mentougou district from July 30 until Aug 2. It had made an emergency stop at Yanhecheng Station in Mentougou at 12:57 pm on July 30. As the station is on higher ground and not as susceptible to flooding, railway authorities decided to keep the passengers and staff on the train until the flooding receded.

"When passengers woke up the next morning, some of them became pretty anxious after seeing the train was still stopped at the station. We crew members divided into 15 teams to comfort passengers one by one," said crew member Ni Peng. On Aug 2, the line to Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, reopened for service. Passengers took a commuter train and arrived at Zhangjiakou in the afternoon on Aug 2. They were either picked up by their families at stations along the way or took another train to Beijing.

Li Sisi, a train staff member, received a banner from the train's passengers on Friday.

"A passenger, who is a veteran, volunteered to help with supplies and comforting other passengers," she said.

Li Guoqiang, the train's cook, said: "The induction cooker got to work at about 6 am and it had to stop at 3 pm to keep it from overheating. We had to find a way to cool it down, using a fan or wiping towel. After making porridge, we had to use the cooker to boil some water. It was the first time I ever saw a cooker stopping work because it had been on for too long."