China National Railway Sees Steady Freight Growth and Expanded Cross-Border Train Services

According to Securities Daily on August 19, China State Railway Group has released operational data for the first seven months of the year, showing steady expansion of national railway freight volume and robust growth in cross-border freight train services.

National railways transported a total of 2.35 billion tonnes of cargo in the January–July period, representing a year-on-year increase of 0.7 per cent. The average daily wagon loading volume reached 187,000 units, rising 2.1 per cent year on year. Cross-border freight services maintained strong growth momentum, with China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains operating 21,570 trips, an increase of 10.3 per cent compared with the same period last year. Within the total figure, China-Europe train trips surged 17.6 per cent year on year to 12,988, while China-Central Asia train trips stood at 8,582, marking a mild year-on-year rise of 0.7 per cent.

During the peak summer energy consumption season, railway operators leveraged the unified national railway network and centralised scheduling mechanisms to prioritise the transportation of strategic materials essential for people’s livelihoods and industrial operations. Coal transportation capacity was fully guaranteed, with 1.216 billion tonnes of coal delivered nationwide, including 813 million tonnes of thermal coal. Sustained and sufficient coal stockpiles were maintained at direct power plants across the country, effectively supporting stable power supply during the high-demand summer months.

Long-term strategic cooperation has been established between railway authorities and leading enterprises in grain, chemical and other key sectors, with customised logistics solutions tailored for individual clients. Diversified bulk cargo categories recorded prominent growth, with grain shipment volume up 7.4 per cent, chemical products up 5.4 per cent, and textile cargo volume jumping 21.4 per cent year on year.

Railway logistics product systems have been continuously upgraded to adapt to evolving market demands, forming a comprehensive portfolio of multi-modal transport services. In the first seven months, the railway sector launched 165 integrated rail-sea freight services with unified document procedures, covering 71,600 standard containers and driving a 9.2 per cent year-on-year increase in container rail-sea intermodal throughput. Road-rail combined transport business expanded rapidly, achieving 294 million tonnes of cargo volume with a year-on-year growth of 80.9 per cent.