GANNAN, Jiangxi, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — As of now, the China-Europe Railway Express from Jiangxi has cumulatively operated 2,185 trains, transporting 242,000 TEUs of goods, over 5.7 million tons, with a total value exceeding $9 billion, according to information revealed at a centralized media event on the 10th anniversary of the Jiangxi China-Europe freight train service on Nov. 19.
On the afternoon of Nov. 19, a China-Europe freight train loaded with general merchandise departs from Ganzhou International Inland Port in Jiangxi, heading for Russia. Photo by Wu Pengquan, Xinhua News Agency correspondent.
That afternoon, a China-Europe freight train fully loaded with general merchandise departed from Ganzhou International Inland Port in Jiangxi province, bound for Russia.
Nankang District in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi, known as the “Capital of Solid Wood Home Furnishings in China,” consumes approximately 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, relying on the China-Europe Railway Express, the transit time for return trains transporting timber to Nankang has been reduced to 12 days, saving 25 days compared to traditional sea transport, and comprehensive logistics costs have been reduced by 18%.
“Benefiting from the stable operation and efficiency of the China-Europe Railway Express, our company’s European clients have gradually increased. From January to October this year, we have exported 68 TEUs of goods,” said Wen Shitong, head of a home furnishings company in Nankang District. He added that the company will further expand into European and Central Asian markets leveraging the China-Europe Railway Express.
Since its inaugural run in 2015, the scale of Jiangxi’s China-Europe freight train service has grown steadily. Statistics show that, to date, Jiangxi has successively opened 12 international transport routes, establishing a major international logistics channel connecting 224 cities across 25 Asian and European countries, including the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The goods transported by the trains have expanded from general merchandise and home appliances to cross-border e-commerce products and cold-chain fresh goods.
Railway authorities stated that over the past decade, the “steel camel trains” shuttling across the Eurasian continent have gradually shortened the distance between Jiangxi, a landlocked province without coastal access, and the world. In the future, railway departments will continue to optimize freight service products represented by the China-Europe Railway Express and sea-rail intermodal trains to promote the stabilization and quality improvement of Jiangxi’s foreign trade. (End)
