China-Europe Railway Express Cumulative Trips Top 130,000, Boosting Eurasian Trade

China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. announced that at 10:00 on May 9, the China-Europe Railway Express train X8037 bound for Hamburg, Germany, departed from Zhengzhou Putian Station in China, marking the cumulative number of trips of the China-Europe Railway Express exceeding 130,000 since its operation. The total value of goods transported has surpassed 520 billion US dollars, demonstrating its growing role in promoting Eurasian economic and trade cooperation.

In recent years, efforts have been made to continuously optimize the operation routes of the China-Europe Railway Express. Centering on the three major domestic corridors in the west, central and eastern regions, 93 scheduled lines with a speed of 120 kilometers per hour have been mapped out. The diversification of overseas corridors has also been vigorously expanded, forming a parallel three-line pattern of north, central and south routes outside China.

China Daily reports that the China-Europe (Asia) Railway Express on the south corridor has realized regular operation, with steady growth in transportation volume. A total of 219 trips were operated from January to April this year, a year-on-year increase of 55%. This expansion of corridors has further improved the accessibility and stability of the China-Europe Railway Express.

Meanwhile, railway departments have actively developed international multimodal transport, successfully testing and operating the China-Europe Railway Express combined with rail-sea transport via St. Petersburg, Russia, across the Baltic Sea to Hamburg Port, Germany. An international logistics product based on railway multimodal transport bills of lading has also been developed and applied, enabling "one bill to the end and convenient settlement" with neighboring countries without railway ports.

China.org.cn states that currently, 129 cities in China have opened China-Europe Railway Express services, reaching 235 cities in 26 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, with service coverage basically covering the entire Eurasian continent. This extensive network has laid a solid foundation for deepening economic and trade exchanges between China and Eurasian countries.

With the high-quality development of the China-Europe Railway Express, the domestic and foreign transportation prices have dropped by more than 40% compared with the initial stage of operation. The trains transport more than 50,000 types of goods in 53 categories, among which high-value-added goods such as auto parts, machinery and electronic equipment have become the main export goods. European timber, pulp, characteristic agricultural and sideline products and daily consumer goods also enter the Chinese market through these trains.

Xinhua News Agency notes that the China-Europe Railway Express has maintained a basically balanced number of outgoing and returning trips, with a comprehensive full-container rate stable at 100%. In the future, it will continue to optimize route layout, improve service quality, deepen cooperation with countries along the route, and further play its role as a bridge for Eurasian trade, injecting more vitality into global economic recovery.