Cross-border freight trains link inland China with the world

Faithful customers

The safe and reliable service has attracted an increasing number of clients.

"Our company has used the service for 10 years. At first, there was only a few containers a month, but now we send about 600 to 700 containers every month. The variety of products have also improved from less than 10 to nearly 300," said Kong Weidong, general manager of the Zhengzhou office of a freight transport agency in Shanghai, adding that to take care of the growing business, the Zhengzhou office has hired more workers.

"When we first started our business in Zhengzhou, there were about two to three employees. Now our team has grown to about 100," he said.

"Although the foreign trade business this year is very complicated, we are optimistic about the China-Europe freight train services. We want to take the geographic advantage of Zhengzhou to extend more routes in Russia, Central Asia and even ASEAN countries," he said.

He said the freight train service is a safe, reliable, efficient and economized choice for customers.

It saves time and it is less affected by the weather, unlike sea transportation, he said.

The company has about 800 clients, with about 30 percent foreign companies and the rest domestic ones.

"At first, customers, especially foreign clients, did not know the service. We told our customers that it was a very good choice," he said.

"One of the Germany company was not interested in the service in 2015 when I first introduced it to them. I made a thorough introduction to them but they were still not interested. But the customer turned back and found us about 3 or 4 years later. They wanted to try the service after a few years' observation," he said, adding that the company has since become one of their loyal clients.

Kong also noted that the service has improved over the years.

Better services such as tracking system and cold-chain carriages are offered, he added.

The freight train service has not only benefited the inland province of Henan but also other parts of China.

In March 2011, a new era in rail freight was ushered in when a train left Chongqing and traveled through Central Asia to Europe, establishing a viable alternative to sea and air shipping.

Over the past decade, 77,000 China-Europe freight train trips have been made, carrying 7.31 million containers with a total estimated goods value exceeding $340 billion.

The transportation network of the China-Europe train services has connected 217 cities in 25 European countries.