The China-Europe Railway Express has now regularized its full-schedule, time-definite service product. With a stable operating frequency of 22 trains per week, it has established a standardized cross-border logistics corridor connecting nine key domestic cities and six major European hub nodes. Compared to traditional train transport modes on the same routes, this scheduled service has achieved an overall efficiency improvement of over 30%, significantly accelerating supply chain turnover. Concurrently, the quality of freight transport has been continuously optimized, with an increased share of high-value-added goods. The average value of goods per container has risen by 41% compared to previous levels.

Data from China State Railway Group (China Railway) shows that from January to April, a total of 12,213 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains were operated, a year-on-year increase of 13.4%. Among these, 7,366 were China-Europe trains (up 22% year-on-year), and 4,847 were China-Central Asia trains (up 2.6% year-on-year).

China has scheduled 93 designated train routes domestically for the China-Europe Railway Express. It is strengthening the organization of cross-Caspian Sea China-Europe train services and has conducted test runs on a route crossing the Baltic Sea via St. Petersburg, Russia, offering clients diverse cross-border logistics options. Currently, the China-Europe Railway Express reaches 235 cities in 26 European countries, with its service scope basically covering the entire Eurasian continent.

In terms of service quality, the China-Europe Railway Express has developed and promoted electronic seals, enabling full-journey cargo tracking and breakage alerts. Specialized equipment, such as 40-foot container liners (flexitanks), specialized containers for automobiles, and containers for power lithium batteries, has been promoted and applied, effectively expanding the range of goods transported. The network for returning empty overseas railway containers has been expanded to 17 countries, covering the majority of overseas hub cities, facilitating convenient container use and return for customers.

According to reports, the top five cities/regions in terms of the number of China-Europe train departures are Xi'an, the Chengdu-Chongqing region, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, and Jinan. Regarding the smoothness of operations at various ports: operations at the Alashankou Port are currently affected by strong winds; transit efficiency at the Khorgos Port has decreased due to railway construction within Kazakhstan; operations at the Erenhot Port have slowed due to dust storms; other ports remain generally unobstructed.

Source: China Business Journal