China News Service, Xi’an, September 12 (by Dang Tianye, Liu Panli) On the 12th, the 46103 train, loaded with 55 cars carrying 3,520 tons of steel, sounded its whistle and departed from Xiayukou Station in Hancheng, Shaanxi, heading all the way to downstream enterprises such as Yichang and Jining. This marks the official launch of the nation’s first dedicated railway logistics financial service train utilizing the “Freight Payment Certificate.” This is the latest initiative by China Railway Xi’an Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Xi’an Railway Bureau”), in collaboration with financial institutions, aimed at reducing corporate financing costs and overall social logistics costs, and fostering high-quality regional economic development.
Photo caption: On September 12, the 46103 train, loaded with 55 cars carrying 3,520 tons of steel, departs from Xiayukou Station with a sounding whistle. Photo by Hua Sha
Transportation and logistics are key links in the cycle of the real economy. Reducing logistics costs and optimizing financial services are key policy focuses. In November 2024, the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the “Action Plan for Reducing Costs, Improving Quality, and Increasing Efficiency in Transportation and Logistics,” which explicitly called for “increasing support through financial policies,” providing clear policy guidance for the integrated development of “logistics + finance.”
According to reports, Xi’an Railway Bureau has continued to focus on addressing the pain points of enterprises, such as “difficulties in transport connectivity and high financing costs,” and has actively explored innovative paths for “logistics + finance.” It first achieved a breakthrough in the international freight sector. In April, it took the lead in collaborating with China Zheshang Bank Xi’an Branch to launch the railway “Freight Loan” service for international freight service providers, successfully facilitating the operation of the nation’s first China-Europe Railway Express logistics financial service train. Simultaneously, it has continuously expanded its cooperative boundaries, having now established partnerships with 11 banks and provided a cumulative total of 1.659 billion yuan in railway logistics financial service support to 17 enterprises, effectively alleviating their financing burdens.
Building on the foundation of prior in-depth cooperation, Xi’an Railway Bureau has once again joined hands with China Zheshang Bank Xi’an Branch to further extend the “logistics + finance” service scenarios, jointly launching the railway “Freight Payment Certificate” financial project. Unlike the previous “Freight Loan,” this project innovatively uses a forward domestic letter of credit as a payment instrument, embedding financial services into the entire enterprise supply chain process. It achieves seamless integration of online freight miscellaneous fee settlement and financing services, allowing financial support to more precisely reach the freight segments of domestic实体 enterprises.
The railway “Freight Payment Certificate” business offers advantages such as forward payment, flexible payment terms, low financing costs, and convenient online operation. Customers can apply for a bank forward domestic letter of credit through the railway 95306 online platform, designate the railway transport enterprise as the beneficiary, and entrust the relevant business. When paying freight miscellaneous fees, the bank makes a定向 payment to the railway transport enterprise, after which the customer repays according to the agreement.
To ensure the efficient implementation of the railway “Freight Payment Certificate” project, the Freight Department of Xi’an Railway Bureau took the lead in organizing the Xi’an Railway Logistics Center to establish a dedicated service team, creating a real-time对接 mechanism with banks and enterprises to follow up and respond to enterprise needs throughout the process.
In the next step, Xi’an Railway Bureau will continue to focus on serving enterprise needs, deepen collaboration with financial institutions, explore more financial service products, and continuously enhance the informatization and convenience of railway logistics services, injecting strong momentum into promoting coordinated regional economic development and helping Shaanxi build a highland for an open inland economy. (End)
