The China-Europe Railway Express posts significant growth in the first quarter of this year, which can be attributed to its strong substitution function, excellent customized services and higher proportion of return trips.

Photo: Xinhua

The China-Europe Railway Express saw rapid growth in the first quarter of this year, with a total of 1,941 trips run by freight trains carrying 174,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers, increasing 15 percent and 18 percent year-on-year, respectively.

"We used to look everywhere for shipments, but now there are endless containers every day. Thanks to the China-Europe Railway Express, more and more goods 'made in China' can be sold abroad, and more high-quality foreign goods have also entered Chinese families," said Huang Xin, the Party chief at Xinzhu Station of Xi'an West Railway Station of China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd. in Northwest China’s Shaanxi province.

Huang Xin witnessed the explosive growth of the China-Europe Railway Express. "In the past, our shipping marketers had to go to Wenzhou city and Ningbo city to solicit shipments, because the freight rates were high and the shipments from Xi'an were small," recalled Huang, adding that “now we have a lot of work to do and we often have to work overtime.”

With Xinzhu Station as only one example, according to the China Railway Group, in March the China-Europe Railway Express has made 809 trips, up 30 percent from the previous year, and carried 73,000 TEUs in cargo, growing 36 percent year-on-year.

The strong substitution function of the China-Europe Railway Express helps accelerate its growth in the number of trips. The China-Europe Railway Express operates on a phased basis and does not involve quarantine inspection. It has a unique advantage under the circumstance of epidemic prevention and control, becoming an important logistics channel to ensure trade between China and Europe and unimpeded transportation of epidemic prevention materials for international cooperation.

Stable and efficient operation with customized services have also served as the basis for the rapid growth of China-Europe Railway Express.

Coastal foreign trade enterprises used to transfer their products exported to Europe to Yingkou Port and Dalian Port by sea, before exporting them abroad by China-Europe Railway Express, revealed Yao Xiang, manager of train operation department of Shenyang branch of Sinotrans Northeast Co., Ltd.

Yao takes the shipments to Moscow, Russia as an example: it takes about 40 days by sea; while the running time of the China-Europe Railway Express is about 12 days, which is more cost-effective.

The increasing proportion of shipments during return trips has also contributed to the increase in the number of trips. According to Shenyang Branch of China Railway Container Transport Co., Ltd., since the beginning of this year, the enterprise fixed shipments of Russian plates, European auto parts, machinery, equipment and daily necessities during the return trips.