By Xinhua
Beijing : Chinese authorities have despatched trains no longer in use to the quake-hit Sichuan province in the southwest as temporary winter shelters for those rendered homeless by the devastating May 12 earthquake, according to Beijing Youth Daily Thursday.
In all, 10 trains, each with six cars, are now in Guangyuan, north of Sichuan capital Chengdu, the daily reported. The trains are no longer in service.
Seats and rails on the trains were dismantled to make way for two-storey sleepers and a passageway. The trains will accommodate a total of about 1,200 people.
Train cars as temporary shelters for the quake hit people are already in use at the Baolun Middle School serving as teachers’ dormitories. Another train is housing elderly in Sandui of the province.
The DK-16 model trains are now replaced by the more advanced DKZ-16 models.
An earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan and its surrounding provinces killing more than 70,000 people in May. Thousands are still missing.