XI'AN - Traffic has returned to normal after a mudslide blocked a major rail line in west China in the early hours of Sunday, railway authorities said.

The mudslide blocked a section of Baoji-Chengdu Railway near Baoji City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province at about 2 am, forcing delays of several passenger trains, according to Xi'an Railway Administration.

Service on the line resumed at 8 am after authorities launched an emergency repair, it said.

The Baoji-Chengdu Railway, which links the city of Baoji in Shaanxi with Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, is a key north-south railway line in west China.