Efforts to clear a blocked tunnel on the earthquake-ravaged Baoji-Chengdu railway got a shot in the arm yesterday when the final two gas tankers were pulled clear, the Ministry of Railways said.

All 12 tankers, part of a 40-car freight train trapped in the No 109 tunnel by landslides following last week's earthquake, had been removed by yesterday afternoon, ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said.

The breakthrough came after an emergency team opened the sealed northern end of the tunnel at 3 am yesterday and hauled out eight cars.

"There are still 18 carriages left in the tunnel," Wang said, without saying when he thought the line, which links the northwest and southwest of the country, would reopen.

The train, which was carrying, among other things, 500 tons of gasoline, became trapped close to the exit of the 726-m tunnel when rocks fell onto the tracks.

Despite his efforts to stop the train, the driver was unable to avoid careening into the debris.

Both he and his co-driver were injured in the collision, and the locomotive and first two cars burst into flames.

The collapsed tunnel, together with two rail bridges jolted from their original positions, paralyzed the Baoji-Chengdu railway and blocked an all-important lifeline for relief coming from the north.

Four other Sichuan lines cut off by the quake reopened to traffic a day later following speedy repairs.