A crew member sterilizes the special train at Jinan Railway Station. [Photo by Guo Yao/chinadaily.com.cn]

The first charted train carrying students back to their university in Shihezi in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region departed Jinan Railway Station in Shandong province on Monday.

A total of 960 students of Shihezi University were on board and scheduled to arrive on Wednesday afternoon. Three hundred and thirty boarded at Jinan, while the rest got on at Shijiazhuang North Railway Station in Hebei province.

Crew members sterilized the trains thoroughly. Attendants at the train will sterilize the public areas every six hours, according to China Railway Jinan Group Co, which arranged the train.

Emergency kits containing protective gear such as goggles, N95 masks, medical gloves and disinfectant were in place on the train.

Another special train is scheduled to leave Jinan for Shihezi on Tuesday, carrying a total of 968 students from provinces of Shandong and Shanxi back to their university.

Waiting to board. [Photo by Wang Feng/chinadaily.com.cn]

Killing time in the waiting room of Jinan Railway Station on Monday, students wait to board a train that will take them back to Xinjiang. [Photo by Wang Feng/chinadaily.com.cn]

Students prepare to board on Monday afternoon. [Photo by Fu Deshui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Students prepare to board a train at Jinan Railway Station on Monday afternoon. It will take them back to their school in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo by Fu Deshui/chinadaily.com.cn]

Students ride a special train that takes them back to their school — Shihezi University in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region — from Jinan, Shandong province, on Monday afternoon. [Photo by Guo Yao/chinadaily.com.cn]