China Railway's cross-border cargo deliveries to Europe and Central Asia saw robust growth from January to May, as the national railway system has further strengthened communication and coordination with foreign railway authorities to improve the efficiency of train handovers at border ports, according to the China State Railway Group Co (China Railway) on Sunday.
From January to May, a total of 6,046 China-Central Asia freight trains were operated, up 23 percent year-on-year, data released by China Railway showed.
During the same period, the China-Laos Railway transported 2.502 million tons of cross-border cargo, up 8 percent year-on-year, effectively boosting international trade and economic exchanges.
Overall, China's national railway cargo volume continued to grow in the first five months of the year, with 1.641 billion tons of goods transported during the period, up 3.1 percent year-on-year, said China Railway.
The average daily loading volume reached 181,000 vehicles, a 4.2 percent increase year-on-year, providing strong support for domestic and international dual circulation and ensuring the stable operation of the national economy, China Railway said.
Since the beginning of this year, the development of a modern national railway network has accelerated, significantly reducing logistics costs. The delivery of bulk commodities has been further secured, including the establishment of "green channels" for key coal projects in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
In the first five months, a total of 655 integrated logistics contracts were signed, promoting the shift of bulk cargo transport from road to rail. Also, 43 new "single waybill" multimodal transport products were developed, and 6.833 million standard containers of rail-water intermodal container cargo were shipped, up 18.4 percent year-on-year.