Armed police help control stranded Beijing travellers

Beijing: Authorities sent in armed police to help control some 100,000 passengers stranded at Beijing train stations after snowfalls in central China paralysed a key section of the nation's railway grid, media reported on Saturday.

The transport collapse came just before the lunar new year festival, when hundreds of millions crisscross the country to rejoin families for the most important celebration in the Chinese-speaking world.

Southbound trains were delayed by 10cm of snow in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, on the link between the capital and the southern economic powerhouse of Guangzhou, China Daily said.

Some 1,100 police were drafted in to control crowds at the worst-hit station, Beijing West, which had already reported a "red-level emergency".

Officers worked up to 18 hours without food or rest, Beijing Youth Daily said.