LATEST: Service on 19 passenger trains, which had been disrupted by strong winds early Tuesday morning, was restored at about 3:00 p.m. in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Strong gales began around 2:00 a.m. east of the city of Hami on the Lanxin (Lanzhou-Urumqi) Railway, a hub linking Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, with Lanzhou in Gansu province, a source with the Urumqi Railways Administration said.

Staff with the railway department provided food and water to passengers aboard the halted trains

URUMQI - Traffic was disrupted on a railway line in Northwest Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region when strong winds swept through the region early Tuesday morning, stranding 19 passenger trains.

The exact number of people aboard the trains is not immediately known.

The strong gales that stranded the trains started around 2:00 am to the east of the city of Hami on the Lanxin (Lanzhou-Urumqi) Railway, a trunk railway linking Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, with Lanzhou in Gansu province, said a source from Urumqi Railways Administration.

As of 2:00 pm, the 19 trains were still stranded, but the source said the passengers had been supplied with food and water, and services won't resume until the winds subside.