100,000th China-Europe Railway Express Departs from Chongqing

On November 15 at 10:20 am, the 100,000th China-Europe Railway Express departs from Chongqing, heading to Duisburg, Germany. (Photo/Deng Nan)

Chongqing—At 10:20 am on November 15, the China-Europe Railway Express X8083 departed from Southwest China's Chongqing, heading to Duisburg, Germany.

According to China State Railway Group Co Ltd, this milestone marks 100,000 trains operated, more than 11 million TEUs shipped, and a cargo value exceeding $420 billion.

Logistics channels are fundamental to international trade. For a long time, trade between Asia and Europe primarily relied on sea and air transport, which are both time-consuming and costly. In March 2011, Chongqing opened a direct international railway route to Europe, launching the Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) railway. Following this, other cities like Wuhan, Suzhou, Chengdu, and Zhengzhou also began operating direct rail services to Europe.

In 2016, all direct rail services to Europe in China were unified under the brand "China-Europe Railway Express." From then until 2023, the annual number of trains surged from 1,702 to over 17,000, a nearly tenfold increase. The time needed to reach 10,000 trains dropped from 90 months to just 6 months. Since March of this year, the monthly number of trains has consistently exceeded 1,600 for eight consecutive months, the China State Railway Group said.

The company's data showed that over 100 cities in China operate China-Europe Railway Express services nowadays, reaching 227 cities in 25 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. The network spans the entire Eurasian continent.

The return-to-outbound ratio for China-Europe Railway Express trains exceeds 84 percent, achieving a near-balanced operation with "Seven departures and six returns" each week.

The range of goods carried has expanded to over 53 categories and more than 50,000 types, with high-tech and high-value-added products making up an increasing share each year, according to the data.

"The growing variety of goods transported by the China-Europe Railway Express has greatly boosted trade between Chongqing and Europe," said Zhou Qin, deputy director of the Tuanjie Village Operations Department at the Chongqing Railway Logistics Center.

She noted that the expanding reach of the railway network has also addressed the issue of limited connectivity between inland cities and international markets, leading to the rise of many land port cities and driving high-quality development in regional and open economies.

"With the vast logistics network of the China-Europe Railway Express, the western pathway for Chongqing has been opened, transforming the city's geographical disadvantage of being inland and landlocked into an advantage, connecting it in all directions," Zhou explained.

She added that Chongqing's logistics industry has rapidly developed with the support of the China-Europe Railway Express, attracting international logistics companies such as Maersk and GLP. This has driven the integration of the railway with manufacturing, trade, finance, and other industries.

In terms of key products, the China-Europe Railway Express has helped Chongqing secure approval to build an import port for complete vehicles, pharmaceuticals, and bioproducts, effectively expanding the range of business opportunities in the city and providing strong logistical support for its development, according to Zhou.

As the data from China State Railway Group showed, the annual cargo value of China-Europe Railway Express has grown from $8 billion in 2016 to $56.7 billion in 2023, reaching $58 billion so far this year.

Since 2020, SF Express has partnered with Yuxinou Railway. Compared to air and sea transport, rail transport offers advantages such as stable pricing, high cargo capacity, and guaranteed timeliness, said Liu Borui, head of SF Express' international rail business.

Liu added that Yuxinou ranks among the top three in the country for shipment volume, and its stability in terms of delivery time, schedule reliability, and cargo security has been proven through years of cooperation.

"This year, the Yuxinou railway launched the full timetable China-Europe freight train, which can reach Duisburg, Germany, from Chongqing in just over ten days. For Chinese companies with destinations in inland Europe, such as Poland and Germany, including enterprises like BYD, as well as cross-border e-commerce businesses, we highly recommend choosing Yuxinou for overseas shipping."