XINHUA NEWS AGENCY XI'AN, December 10th - Title: Diversification, Public Transportation: The China-Europe Railway Express Makes Cross-Border Trade Faster and More Efficient

Xinhua News Agency reporters He Zhanjun, Jiang Chenrong and Zhang Bin

Recently, the first full-route timetable China-Europe freight train (Xi'an - Budapest) was fully loaded with electronic products, auto parts, daily necessities and other goods. After a journey of 10 days and 23 hours, it arrived in Budapest.

With the launch of this train service, Xi'an has become the first city in the country to achieve the regular operation of three full-route express train routes between China and Europe. The operation pattern is now "six departures and three returns" per week. Currently, the total number of full-route express train routes on the schedule has reached 17, and the number of trains has increased to over 1,000 per year, covering 9 cities in China and 6 cities in Europe.

The first China-Europe Railway Express, which was launched in 2011, is a container international railway intermodal train operating between China and Europe and the countries participating in the "Belt and Road Initiative". As of the end of November, the total number of China-Europe Railway Expresses has exceeded 120,000, with a cargo value of over 490 billion US dollars. Currently, 128 cities within China have launched China-Europe Railway Expresses, reaching 232 cities in 26 European countries as well as over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries.

On November 30th, the full schedule of the China-Europe freight train at the Tongzhuicun Central Station in Chongqing was waiting to depart (photo taken by a drone). Xinhua News Agency reporter Tang Yi.

As a landmark logistics channel for high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road Initiative", it has facilitated the export of Chinese manufacturing products and the import of global goods, evolving from initial drilling equipment and textile products to 53 categories and over 50,000 varieties of commodities. Over the past decade, the China-Europe Railway Express has built a bridge of mutual assistance and win-win outcomes between Asia and Europe on the Eurasian continent.

"By strengthening international cooperation and optimizing transportation organization, the inbound and outbound volumes of the China-Europe Railway Express have achieved a basic balance. The overall container loading rate has reached 100%. The freight rates for the trains both within and outside China have decreased by over 40% compared to the initial stage of operation, effectively reducing international logistics costs," said Guo Zhuxue, the chairman of China State Railway Group.

As a full-route timetable train with a fixed train number, running route, schedule and running time, by reasonably controlling the key operation links such as reloading and handover at the border stations, the transportation time is shorter than that of ordinary China-Europe freight trains.

The entire train schedule of the China-Europe freight train has optimized the overall transportation efficiency, increasing by 30% compared to before. This has provided a strong guarantee for us to expand the market in Europe. As a loyal user of the China-Europe freight train, Li Na, the general manager of Beijing Cross-Eurasia International Freight Forwarding Company, stated that the clear arrival and departure times help customers precisely arrange production, sales and storage plans, significantly reducing capital occupation. At the same time, it allows for the early arrangement of customs clearance and overseas pick-up procedures, effectively reducing various costs.

"Public transportation-like operation and real-time price disclosure will help 'Made in China' expand its market in Europe, and also make high-quality European goods more easily accessible to China." Li Baozhou, the director of the command center of Xi'an West Railway Station, said. In addition, the value of goods carried by the entire route of the China-Europe freight train is higher. According to statistics, the average value of each container on the entire route of the China-Europe freight train is 41% higher than that of ordinary China-Europe freight trains.

On November 28th, at the International Railway Port in Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu, the X8086 China-Europe freight train was about to depart. Photo by Wang Xi, Xinhua News Agency.

While constantly striving for speed and punctuality, the China-Europe Railway Express has also been diversifying its development. As the number of regular passengers using the China-Europe Railway Express keeps increasing, there are now milk, red wine, ham, honey, pomegranates, kiwis, bananas... arriving from afar... To ensure the "journey safety" of these fresh products, the China-Europe Railway Express has specially launched cold chain trains. During transportation, the containers are fully sealed throughout the journey, with the temperature maintained stably within the set range, and real-time data is fed back through the remote monitoring system to ensure that the goods are in the best preservation condition.

Jeff Molenaars, the director of healthcare transportation and sales at Dutch New Silk Road Logistics Company, said that the transported medicines are extremely sensitive to time and temperature. The China-Europe Railway Express can simultaneously meet the needs of enterprises to expand their markets in Europe and Asia, bringing new development opportunities to the Dutch pharmaceutical industry.

Not only can it transport goods, but it can also carry culture. In the first half of this year, the China-Central Asia International Cultural Tourism Special Train (Xi'an - Almaty section) was launched. On the speeding train, the staff and passengers gathered around the table, folding bamboo leaves, adding glutinous rice, putting in red dates, covering with rice, winding cotton thread, and gradually forming a series of plump dumplings.

During the journey, various colorful activities such as traditional craftsmanship exhibitions, cultural product production, and traditional Chinese medicine experiences were held along the way to attract local people to participate. This has enabled this "steel Silk Road" to undertake a new mission of promoting cultural exchanges.

Diversity and integration have increasingly become the development theme of the China-Europe Railway Express. In January this year, the country's first green cross-border e-commerce special train with a complete schedule set off from Xi'an International Port Station and headed for Duisburg, Germany. "This is the first China-Europe Railway Express in the country that transports goods through 'full journey schedule train + low-carbon green train + cross-border e-commerce'. The transportation cost is about one fifth of that of air transportation. At the same time, the train uses clean energy," said Shao Bol, the general manager of the Multimodal Transport Company of Xi'an International Land Port Group.

From a single logistics channel to multiple platforms, the China-Europe Railway Express (Xi'an) is achieving diversified development and providing bus-like services, continuously shortening the distance between Asia and Europe. In the future, this intercontinental corridor will continue to carry the vision of win-win cooperation, continuously driving bilateral growth, and creating more new opportunities for international cooperation.

Source of information: Xinhua News Agency