China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) exceeds 1,000 runs in 2018

The China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) has made over 1,000 runs so far this year and has ranked top among the national China-Europe freight trains in the first 10 months of 2018, providing effective support for Xi'an Port to become China's largest inland port.

The celebration ceremony for hitting a total of 1,000 train journey from the port since the start of the year. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As a core indicator for measuring the high-quality development of China-Europe freight trains, its overload rate is an astonishing 99.9 percent, significantly exceeding second place by more than 20 percent.

With the acceleration of the Belt and Road process, the economic and trade exchanges between countries on the route have become increasingly active.

The China-Europe freight train has become the backbone of international logistics, with short transport cycles and logistics costs, a good safety record, and little effect on the natural environment since its launch in 2011.

Up until now, the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) has opened 11 lines from Xi'an to five countries in Central Asia, as well as Hamburg in Germany, Kouvola in Finland, Budapest in Hungary and Riga in Latvia, covering the main supply sources in Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

As of Oct 30, the run of the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) has reached 1030, which is 5.3 times that of the previous year; the shipment of goods hit 1.052 million metric tons, 4.5 times that of the same period of last year; and the value of goods was about $1.5 billion, eight times that of the whole year last year.

The China-Europe freight train (Xi'an-Riga) leaves Xi'an Port on Oct 30, marking the 1030th train journey of the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) in 2018. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The three-dimensional logistics channel formed by the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an), land-sea combined transport and air-rail combined transport is accelerating the growth of the trade and logistics industry.

Xi'an's western logistics hub has become increasingly prominent, and its contribution to regional economic development is also increasing.

In 2017, only 10 percent of the supply of the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) came from Shaanxi province, yet by 2018 it had reached 30 percent.

At present, the goods transported by the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) includes six categories and 206 varieties of products, including industrial raw materials, machinery and equipment, building materials, industrial spare parts, food, and light industrial products.

Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oil Industry Group Co has an industrial base in Kazakhstan. Since the beginning of this year, it has transported 50,000 metric tons of wheat, 10,000 metric tons of flour and 20,000 metric tons of grease through the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an).

The China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) plans to continue to provide high-quality market services, promoting the rapid development of trade in Shaanxi province and the rapid accumulation of industries.

A photo of Xi'an Port. [Photo/itl.gov.cn]