China rail traffic returning to normal after quake

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has resumed rail traffic between quake-hit Sichuan and other provinces, except on one major line where a tunnel collapsed.

Monday's 7.9 magnitude tremor killed around 12,000 people and flattened many buildings near the epicenter.

The State Administration of Work Safety called for coal mines, oilfields and chemical plants in quake-affected areas to halt operations as they checked for damage, although officials at major coal exporters said there was little impact on mining or logistics.

Rail services out of the provincial capital Chengdu to Baoji, a major hub in Shaanxi province, were suspended when a tunnel collapsed, setting fire to a freight train carrying gasoline, Xinhua news agency said.

The quake also damaged bridges on the Baoji-Chengdu line and cut power to 13 stations.

Passenger trains bound south from Baoji have been held back at Xi'an, an official with the Xi'an railway bureau told Reuters.

"Those are very steep grades and there are a lot of tunnels once you get past Baoji on the way to Chengdu," said a businessman whose company supplies the Chinese rail network.

"I would expect them to be concerned about the integrity of the tunnels and I don't know how long it would take, although they continually surprise me with their efficiency."

Xinhua said 187 trains carrying relief materials, including 50,000 tents and one fuel train, would head to affected areas. The ministry will also deploy an additional 1,400 trains for disaster relief, it said.

In Datong, the coal heartland of Shanxi Province, underground work was stopped temporarily but has since resumed with no disruption to rail transport, an official said.

Roads into the worst-affected regions north of Chengdu are cut off by numerous landslides, while heavy rain is also impeding the arrival of outside rescuers and supplies.

Sichuan itself produces about 3 percent of China's coal, but almost all of that is consumed within the province.

Transport between northwest China and central China along the Gansu corridor was not affected, said a railway official in Gansu's capital, Lanzhou.

An official at Panzhihua Iron and Steel, China's 11th largest steel maker in southwestern Sichuan province, said he did not expect the earthquake to hinder shipments.

(Reporting by Lucy Hornby and Niu Shuping in Beijing, and Fayen Wong in Sydney)