Urumqi, June 6 (Xinhua) — As a new type of international transport organization connecting China with Europe and Asia, the China-Europe Railway Express offers notable advantages such as convenience and speed, safety and stability, and green and economical operation. It has become a widely welcomed international public good, and the number of trains operated has maintained strong growth.

Statistics show that since the service was launched in 2013, the cumulative number of China-Europe Railway Express trains had exceeded 90,000 as of May 25, 2024. From 2016 to 2023, the annual number of trains rose from 1,702 to more than 17,000, an increase of nearly 10 times, with an average annual growth rate of 39.5%. The time required to reach each additional 10,000 trains has been shortened from 90 months at the beginning to 7 months now.

A China-Europe Railway Express train fully loaded with cargo departs from the Horgos railway port in Xinjiang. Photo by Tao Shuanke

　　Shift from "point-to-point" to "hub-to-hub"

In recent years, China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd., relying on its location at the forefront of the ports, has advanced railway construction in a scientific, orderly, safe and high-quality manner, continuously improved Xinjiang's railway network structure, and steadily enhanced its transport service support capacity. At the same time, it has given full play to the role of the international logistics corridor, accelerated the planning and construction of the western railway network, vigorously promoted the operation of China-Europe Railway Express trains, and built a resilient international logistics supply chain.

Hu Xuelian, deputy director of the Belt and Road International Cooperation Division of the Xinjiang Development and Reform Commission, told reporters that the brand influence of the China-Europe Railway Express has increased year by year, and a shift from a "point-to-point" model to a "hub-to-hub" model has taken initial shape. More and more goods are traveling on China-Europe Railway Express trains, going out and coming in, which has promoted trade cooperation between Xinjiang and relevant countries and has become a stabilizer and ballast for the smooth development of China's domestic and international dual circulation.

China Railway Urumqi Group, taking into account the road network characteristics of the two port stations of Alashankou and Horgos, which are "cargo-oriented," has implemented capacity expansion and renovation projects at the port stations to enhance cargo reception, dispatch and transshipment capacity and to deepen the development of high-value-added sources of goods for international combined transport. At the same time, by providing flexible and diverse convenient services and high-quality transport products, it has attracted many enterprises from within and outside Xinjiang to settle at the ports, further driving the development of the logistics industry at the port stations.

　　Building a new highland for inland opening-up

As the last consolidation center on the western route of the China-Europe Railway Express, Xinjiang has, through measures such as strengthening infrastructure construction, optimizing customs clearance procedures and improving service quality, built the Urumqi International Land Port Area, enabling it to complete the "arrival, loading and unloading, marshalling and deconsolidation, inspection, and departure" of trains in a single operation. In addition to regularly operating China-Europe Railway Express trains, the port has now achieved multimodal transport coverage of Central Asian countries.

At present, the China-Europe Railway Express trains operated from the Urumqi International Land Port have grown from fewer than one per day initially to a steady three per day; the routes have increased from 4 to 23, reaching 26 cities in 19 countries across Asia and Europe, carrying more than 200 types of goods, and road-rail-sea multimodal transport trains have also been launched.

Not only that, but China-Europe Railway Express trains departing from Xinjiang have also brought convenience to local enterprises. After the launch of the China-Europe Railway Express, a chemical enterprise located in the Ganquanbao Industrial Park in Urumqi had guaranteed cross-border transport of its raw materials and finished products. The enterprise seized the opportunity and vigorously expanded overseas markets, selling products to countries such as Kazakhstan, Russia and India, and achieved a new breakthrough in 2023 with exports of more than 2,700 containers of products.

Zhao Limei, manager of the International Combined Transport Department of China Railway Container Urumqi Branch, said that since the beginning of this year, in order to promote high-quality operation of China-Europe Railway Express trains, China Railway Container Company has continuously optimized transport plans and further strengthened coordination and organization in links such as port transit, border inspection and outbound train handover, greatly shortening the overall operation time and effectively improving train passage efficiency.

　　Building a modern logistics hub

Yu Rong, deputy director of the Safety Production Command Center of the Horgos railway port station of China Railway Urumqi Group, said that customs and border inspection now actively cooperate, customs release speed has been shortened by half an hour, and the time trains stay at the station has been reduced to the maximum extent, changing "trains waiting for people" to "people waiting for trains" and further improving customs clearance efficiency.

In recent years, in order to improve quality and efficiency and ensure smooth port transport, Xinjiang Railway has coordinated and adjusted the flow of trains at the Alashankou and Horgos ports, expanded operations on dedicated lines in the comprehensive bonded zone, and accelerated the turnover of broad-gauge inbound vehicles, ensuring that port traffic volume reaches new highs.

Operation site at the Horgos railway port in Xinjiang. Photo by Tao Shuanke

In order to ensure efficient and rapid passage of China-Europe Railway Express trains at the ports, the Alashankou and Horgos port stations have continuously improved international combined transport capacity, optimized procedures for receiving and dispatching China-Europe Railway Express trains, transshipment, customs declaration, customs clearance and departure, and built modern logistics hubs with excellent service, high efficiency and low cost.