In an effort to curb pollution , China has created remote coal mining areas but the inadequate and inefficient rail infrastructure used to transport the fuel was unable to cope with recent heavy snow storms . The bottlenecks added to a month-long coal price rally and prompted four top utilities to warn of potential heating and electricity shortages ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year. Even as the snow let up , the railways remained overcrowded and the state railway authorities had to impose emergency measures to increase deliveries to power producers in the region . Freight railways have also had to carry more cargo since the government began to require factories to use railways to transport goods rather than roads . Furthermore , freight tracks have suffered recent underinvestment in favour of passenger lines .
In an effort to curb pollution , China has created remote coal mining areas but the inadequate and inefficient rail infrastructure used to transport the fuel was unable to cope with recent heavy snow storms . Even as the snow let up , the railways remained overcrowded and the state railway authorities had to impose emergency measures to increase deliveries to power producers in the region . Freight railways have also had to carry more cargo since the government began to require factories to use railways to transport goods rather than roads . Furthermore , freight tracks have suffered recent underinvestment in favour of passenger lines .