A day after Wuhan reopened its subway and railway stations, trains from other provinces have started to arrive in the city. That's good news for those who couldn't return to Hubei Province during the lockdown, and also for non-Wuhan residents who were left stranded in the city.

Long time, no return

Nine trains from Shanghai stopped over in Wuhan on Sunday.

Local railway stations were crowded with passengers from early in the morning.

Some of them were Hubei residents, others worked in Wuhan.

"On Wednesday I knew I could go back. The next day I bought the ticket. I really want to go back to work as early as possible and reunite with my family. My parents have been looking forward to my return," said a passenger.

"I went to Shanghai for the Spring Festival holiday and wasn't able to return because of Wuhan's lockdown. My daughter was in Wuhan during this period," said a passenger.  

"I didn't come back to Wuhan during the lockdown. I have been waiting for the moment when the train to Wuhan was available," said a passenger.

"I just wanted to go back to Wuhan as soon as possible," said a passenger.

Long time, no leave

On Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Zhang, her husband and their two children were finally able to leave Wuhan for home.

They had been just passing through the day the lockdown took effect and were forced to stay there.

"We left Jingmen at 7 o'clock early in the morning. Then we drove to a service area in Wuhan to eat a bowl of noodles. After a while, the road was blocked so we had to stay," said Zhang.

Scores of other people, like Mrs. Zhang and her family, left Wuhan on Saturday on chartered buses.

Many of them were college students or migrant workers, all headed in different directions.

They were among the first to return to their hometowns with the help of the Wuhan government.

"We will send the stranded people back home in stages and groups. I hope they will reunite with their families as soon as possible," said Liang Zhi, chairman of Hubei Passenger Transportation Corporation.

After more than nine weeks of closure, Wuhan is gradually getting its public transportation system back on track.

From April 8, the city's international airport will also restore operations for domestic passenger flights.