On November 19, a China-Europe freight train fully loaded with daily necessities departed from Ganzhou International Inland Port in Jiangxi Province, heading towards Russia.
Over the past decade, the “steel camel caravans” shuttling across the Eurasian continent have gradually shortened the distance between Jiangxi, a landlocked province without coastal access, and the world, broadening the prospects for building a highland of reform and opening-up in inland regions.
On November 24, 2015, a freight train loaded with solar modules worth approximately $5 million departed from Henggang Railway Station in Nanchang for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, marking the official launch of the China-Europe freight train service from Jiangxi.
Li Jian, 36 years old, was the driver of Jiangxi’s first China-Europe freight train. Over the past ten years, he and his colleagues have been driving locomotives day and night, pulling the “steel camel caravans.” The locomotives have evolved from the diesel locomotives used on the first trip to today’s electric locomotives, the traction weight has increased from 3,500 tons to 5,500 tons, and the train speed has risen from 80 kilometers per hour to 120 kilometers per hour.
Since its inception in 2015, the scale of Jiangxi’s China-Europe freight train operations has steadily grown. According to statistics, as of now, Jiangxi has successively opened 12 international transportation routes, establishing a major international logistics corridor connecting 224 cities across 25 countries in Asia and Europe, including the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
Nankang District in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, known as the “Capital of Chinese Solid Wood Furniture,” consumes about 10 million cubic meters of timber annually, 80% of which relies on imports. According to Ye Zhangnan, manager of the Ganzhou International Port Business Department of the Nanchang Railway Logistics Center, thanks to the China-Europe freight trains, the transit time for Nankang’s return timber trains has been reduced to 12 days, saving 25 days compared to traditional sea freight, and overall logistics costs have been lowered by 18%.
“Benefiting from the stable operation and high efficiency and convenience of the China-Europe freight trains, our company’s European clients have gradually increased. From January to October this year, we have already exported 68 TEUs of goods,” said Wen Shitong, head of a furniture company in Nankang District. Relying on the China-Europe freight trains, the company will further expand into the European and Central Asian markets.
In the process of Ganzhou International Inland Port striving to become an international logistics hub, three types of train services—China-Europe freight trains, rail-sea intermodal trains, and domestic trade trains—are working in synergy, with new train operation models continuously emerging.
Niu Hongzhen, director of the Ganzhou International Inland Port Management Committee, said that over the past decade, Ganzhou International Inland Port has cumulatively operated over 1,700 China-Europe freight trains. “We are fully advancing the integrated development of the international inland port, comprehensive bonded zone, cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, and import trade promotion and innovation demonstration zone, committed to building a new highland for an open inland economy.”
Hundreds of kilometers away, at Nanchang International Inland Port, gantry cranes lift and lower, vehicles shuttle back and forth, and foreign trade trains are ready for departure. Here, 12 China-Europe freight train routes and 12 rail-sea intermodal routes connect to 134 countries and regions worldwide. In the first ten months of this year, the port’s freight volume reached 2.1837 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.19%.
Following the steel rails and the sound of train whistles, the role of Jiangxi’s China-Europe freight trains is becoming increasingly prominent. As of now, Jiangxi’s China-Europe freight trains have cumulatively operated 2,185 trips, transporting 242,000 TEUs of goods, totaling over 5.7 million tons, with a value exceeding $9 billion. The goods transported by the trains have expanded from daily necessities and household appliances to cross-border e-commerce products and cold-chain fresh goods.
The railway department stated that in the future, it will continue to optimize freight service products represented by the China-Europe freight trains and sea-rail intermodal trains, promote the stabilization and quality improvement of Jiangxi’s foreign trade, and contribute railway strength to Jiangxi’s efforts to build a highland of reform and opening-up in inland regions. (End)
