BEIJING, May 13 (Reuters) - China has suspended rail traffic between Sichuan and other provinces, calling for safety checks after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake on Monday that has claimed almost 10,000 lives. The State Administration of Work Safety also called for coal mines, oilfields and chemical plants in quake-affected areas to halt operations as they check for damage, although officials at major coal exporters said there was little impact on mining or logistics. Rail services north from Panzhihua, on the Yunnan-Sichuan border, and from the provincial capital Chengdu had been suspended for safety reasons, the Ministry of Railways said. Passenger trains bound south from Baoji, a major hub in Shaanxi province, 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." The earthquake derailed a freight train in the southwest corner of Gansu, on the Chengdu-Baoji line, and 13 wagons carrying gasoline were reported to have caught fire. Railroads will prioritize transport of army rescuers and materials, which could delay transport of coal through parts of Shanxi and Shaanxi province, the two major coal producing areas to the northeast of Sichuan. 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. Railway employees and police have begun to inspect trains, equipment and buildings to ensure safety, Xinhua said. Railway Minister Liu Zhijun called for detours and sufficient food and drinking water supplies for passengers on trains delayed by the quake. (Reporting by Lucy Hornby and Niu Shuping in Beijing, and Fayen Wong in Sydney; Editing by Ken Wills)
Residents search for their family at a collapsed building after an earthquake in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province May 13, 2008. China said on Tuesday an earthquake centred in the southwest province of ...
