Auto & Transportation

On May 25th, a China Europe freight train (Zhengzhou) loaded with 1200 tons of photovoltaic modules, mechanical equipment, and other goods departed from Putian Station of China Railway Zhengzhou Bureau Group Co., Ltd., passing through the Alashankou port and exiting. It will arrive in Hamburg, Germany in 14 days.

In recent years, China Europe trains have maintained stable operation day and night, highlighting their resilience and advantages. Especially since the beginning of this year, with the recovery of the economy, the performance of multiple China Europe train routes has reached new highs, transportation capacity and efficiency have continued to increase, and the domestic and international dual circulation has become more smooth, injecting strong momentum into stable growth.

According to customs data, from January to April this year, China Europe Express operated a total of 5611 trains, transporting 609000 TEUs of goods, with year-on-year growth of 17% and 32% respectively, and a heavy container rate of 100%. As of the end of April, the number of domestic departure cities for the China Europe Express has reached 109, with access to 211 cities in 25 countries and regions in Europe.

The "heat" of train delivery signals market recovery

The "World Supermarket" in Yiwu, Zhejiang has become popular again.

In the first four months of this year, our trade volume increased by about 5% year-on-year, and I am confident that this year will be very good. "Abduraimov Pakhart from Kyrgyzstan went to Yiwu in 2010 to engage in sewing machine import and export trade. At that time, there was no China Europe train, and the sewing machines and accessories purchased had to be transported back to Kyrgyzstan by sea. Customs declaration and clearance require short delivery of goods to the port for processing, making sea freight booking procedures cumbersome and taking a long transportation time.

In November 2014, the Yiwu China Europe Railway was opened, and Abdullah Imov Pakhart became the first person to taste the sweetness. With the China Europe train, the time cost has been reduced by at least half, and I have more customers in Kyrgyzstan, "said Abduraimov Pakhart.

Since the opening and operation of the Yiwu China Europe Railway, we have continuously accumulated and enriched experience in international freight train operation, expanded the international railway freight service network serving the Eurasian continent, reached 101 overseas stations, radiated to more than 50 countries and regions, and reached more than 160 cities. The route runs across Asia and Europe, connecting China and foreign countries, closely linking Yiwu with the world.

Not only in Yiwu, but also in various regions, China Europe trains have reached their peak of operation. At 5:56 on May 19th, the X8202 China Europe Railway (Wuhan) carrying goods such as cars, clothing, and sports goods departed from Wujiashan Station in the Hanxi Depot of China Railway Wuhan Bureau Group Co., Ltd. This is the 101st China Europe Railway to depart from Hubei this year. Since the beginning of this year, the China Europe Railway (Wuhan) has accumulated 425 trains.

The "heat" of the China Europe train conveys the "warmth" of the market. According to customs data, the total import and export value of China's goods trade in the first four months of this year was 13.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%, which is 1 percentage point faster than the 4.8% in the first quarter. Among them, the import and export value in April was 3.43 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.9%. Under the complex and severe external environment, China's foreign trade resilience has been demonstrated.

Especially the growth rate of foreign trade in countries along the Belt and Road that the China Europe train passes through is even more encouraging. According to customs data, in the first four months, China's total import and export volume to countries along the Belt and Road was 4.61 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16%. Among them, imports and exports to Kazakhstan and other five Central Asian countries, as well as Saudi Arabia and other West Asian and North African countries, increased by 37.4% and 9.6% respectively, partially offsetting the impact of weak demand in traditional markets.

Assisting New Energy Vehicles in Going Global

Customs data shows that in the first quarter of this year, China's automobile production and sales slightly decreased year-on-year, but the export of complete vehicles increased by 70.6% year-on-year, and the export of new energy vehicles increased by 110% year-on-year, becoming an important force supporting exports. Among them, the role of the China Europe train is indispensable.

I have been busy for several days, but I am happy in my heart. The normalized operation of the new energy vehicle export special train is a new breakthrough! "Said Bai Kuanfeng, the relevant person in charge of Xi'an International Port Station.

On May 16th, the China Europe Express was loaded with 261 new energy vehicles produced by local enterprises in Shaanxi, slowly exiting Xi'an International Port Station and heading west towards the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. The China Europe Express car export special train operated in Shaanxi has been sporadic from last year to this year's normalized transportation, opening up a safe, efficient, and convenient international logistics channel to help domestic cars enter the world.

In January, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other three departments issued the "Opinions on Supporting the Development of New Energy Vehicle Industry through Automobile and Railway Transportation Services", actively encouraging railway transportation enterprises to carry out new energy commodity automobile and railway transportation business and no longer manage dangerous goods.

In Zhengzhou, the domestic new energy vehicle transportation of China Europe Express (Zhengzhou) has become a new growth point in transportation volume. The relevant person in charge of China Railway Zhengzhou Bureau Group Co., Ltd. introduced that the Zhengzhou railway department has strengthened the safety management of the entire process of transportation quality for China Europe trains, continuously increased the organization of transportation for China Europe trains (Zhengzhou), and strictly enforced the safety status and body quality of trains. According to the "Three Excellence" operation plan, that is, priority receiving, priority inspection, and priority sending, to ensure the timely and safe departure of the train. At present, a total of 622 standard boxes of new energy cars have been sent to China Europe Railway (Zhengzhou).

Sometimes two or three new energy vehicle special trains are sent out a week, from Chongqing, Sichuan, Hubei, and other places. We strengthen cooperation with customs, leverage the advantages of the 'China Europe Express+' combination, guide enterprises to standardize declaration through advanced services, open green channels for new energy vehicle exports, actively serve the export of key products such as new energy vehicles, and help Chinese manufacturing go global Yan Huapeng, Chief of the Operation Management Department of Alashankou Station of China Railway Urumqi Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

The "Sail Away" channel opened by the China Europe Express not only increases the supply of cars in the Central Asian market, but also allows more "Made in China" to take the China Europe Express and enter the homes of ordinary people in Central Asia.

At present, China Europe Express (Wuhan) has 37 stable cross-border transport routes, radiating 107 cities in 40 countries and regions in Eurasia. The products transported have expanded from the original electronic components, displays, and daily necessities to more than 400 varieties of vehicles, spare parts, electromechanical products, glass curtain walls, clothing, shoes and hats, tea, cultural goods, fruits, brand Baijiu, epidemic prevention materials, etc.

In 2013, when the China Europe Express (Xi'an) first opened, its main exports were engineering machinery and primary industrial products, with a relatively small scale. Later, the goods continuously transported to Central Asia and Europe became new energy vehicles, solar photovoltaic panels, refrigerators, and electronic consumer goods, especially the export changes towards Central Asia were the most obvious, "said the relevant person in charge of China Railway Xi'an Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

Expansion and Reconstruction Runs Out "Acceleration"

Mongolian Railways agrees with our suggestion to include '15 pairs/day of wide gauge handover and 8 pairs/day of standard gauge handover' in the Protocol of the China Mongolia Border Railway Joint Committee Meeting, which will be implemented from March 1st. This is the result of the joint efforts of both delegations, "said the head of the Transport Department of China Railway Hohhot Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

The transportation volume of China Europe trains is increasing day by day, and their role is becoming increasingly prominent. In order to better adapt to the development situation and play its role in connecting China and foreign countries and unblocking the industrial and supply chain, all parties have increased their efforts in capacity expansion and transformation.

In 2022, China Railway Hohhot Bureau Group Co., Ltd. expanded and reconstructed the second line of Jiji Railway and Erlian Railway Station in order to better serve the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and unblock the central channel of China Europe Express. The number of wide gauge connecting and departing train lines has been increased to 30, and the newly built Erenhot Station Dispatch Command Center will achieve a centralized control transportation organization mode of "four occasions and one" for wide gauge yard, standard gauge yard, wheel changing depot, and border inspection yard, providing sufficient capacity guarantee for the efficient operation of China Europe trains.

The Erenhot Railway Port is a key node on the China Mongolia Russia Economic Corridor and the China Europe Railway Central Line. As of now, the number of inbound and outbound trains passing through the railway port has increased to 68, with a cumulative number of trains exceeding 12000. According to customs data, from January to April this year, there were 1010 China Europe freight trains passing through the Erenhot railway port, an increase of 6.9% year-on-year. As of May 23, there were 1211 China Europe inbound and outbound trains this year, an increase of 11.2% year-on-year.

In the first four months of this year, our inbound and outbound trains maintained a normal operation of over 20 trains per day, with the highest daily delivery of 29 trains at ports, setting the best level since the establishment of the station. "said Zhang Shuoguo, a dispatcher at the Safety Production Command Center of Horgos Station of China Railway Urumqi Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

As the western channel of the China Europe train, Xinjiang has the advantages of dual port channels such as Alashankou and Khorgos. The railway department of Xinjiang actively integrates into the construction of the "one port, two districts, and five major centers" opened to the west in the autonomous region, with a focus on improving the port's cargo handling capacity and unblocking the transportation channel of China Europe trains. It accelerates the expansion and transformation of Alashankou Station, optimizes the transportation organization of China Europe trains, and ranks among the top in terms of the number and growth scale of trains in China.

As of May 10th, there were 5032 Central European (Central Asian) trains passing through the dual ports of Alashankou and Horgos, an increase of 17.8% year-on-year. The Alashankou Railway Port operates 2317 Central European (Central Asian) trains, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%, while the Horgos Railway Port operates 2715 Central European (Central Asian) trains, a year-on-year increase of 22.9%.

Since the beginning of this year, China Railway Group has made full use of port stations to tap potential and improve efficiency, as well as to expand the capacity of the China Europe freight train channel. The number of trains operating from January to April on the three channels, namely the West, Middle, and East, has increased by 25%, 9%, and 10% year-on-year, respectively. The transportation capacity and efficiency of China Europe freight trains have continued to improve.