Freight trains on track to drive Xinjiang economy

"Since it opened in 1991, the Alataw Pass land port has been famous for strong winds almost all-year-round and for being a strategic entry point for energy products. Now, it's famous for the China Railway Express, and as a trade hub for a range of goods, such as imported cars, agricultural products and alcohol," said Di Yongjiang, Party chief of Alashankou, a city established in 2012 based around the land port.

Wang Chuanjie, head of the Alataw Pass Customs, said: "Since May 2017, the China Railway Express has become a stable and regular service. To provide a better service, we have teamed up with the border security authorities to conduct joint inspections, cutting inspection times by 30 minutes. The customs clearance time has also been accelerated to ensure the efficiency of the train service. Now, trains only need to stop at the port for six to 10 hours, from 12 hours before."

According to Yang Yonghong, head of China Railway Urumqi Group's Alataw Pass Station, the rapid inspection and clearance services for China Railway Express freight trains have led to a rise in imports.

He was speaking at an indoor transfer station where containers from a train that had arrived from Poland (via Kazakhstan) were being loaded onto a train bound for Chongqing. The change was necessary because the track gauge in Kazakhstan is wider than in China.

According to Yang, the indoor transfer station, the largest in Asia, can handle 15 trains a day. Because more trains are expected to pass through the port in the future, the company plans to transform an outdoor transfer station into an indoor facility so the procedure won't be affected by strong winds. The 80 Porsche cars were just one of the cargoes being transferred that day.

"When the China Railway Express was launched, the trains were heavily loaded on their outbound journeys, but most of the containers were empty when they returned. Now, about 70 percent of trains returning to China are also heavily loaded. The change is very obvious," he said.

According to the Alataw Pass Customs, from January to May, only about 30 percent of the containers on China Railway Express trains returning from Europe were empty, a fall of more than 9 percent year-on-year.

Yang said, "As many companies have benefited from the cheaper, but more efficient, service provided by the China Railway Express service, I believe more and more containers will be filled on the trains' return journeys."

The development of the Alataw Pass has also boosted the development of Alashankou, which is home to just 14,000 residents.

"Many businesses have noted the potential of the land port and the city, so they have set up branches and factories here. It's hard to imagine that before 1992 the Alataw Pass was nothing but the Gobi Desert and strong winds," Di, the Party chief, said.