China's decreased rail freight volume in the first quarter of 2015 was not only due to the country's slowing growth, but also to the challenges in developing its railway network, analysts told the Global Times on Tuesday.
A total of 870 million tons of cargo was transported by railways around the country in the first quarter of the year, down 9 percent year-on-year, Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday, citing data from China Railway Corporation, the national railway operator.
The falling rail freight volumes reflect China's adjusted economic policy since 2014, which focuses on a moderate and sustainable growth, Huang Feifei, an analyst at Beijing-based China Investment Consulting, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"As the economy slows down, commodity shipments are dropping, which affected the first-quarter rail cargo traffic," Huang added.
Freight rail lines are less developed because governments have been investing too much in high-speed railway lines, Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
"The country should focus more on freight rail and urban rail lines as road cargo volume has been increasing since 2000," Zhao said.
The World Bank pointed out in March that a more intense use of rail transport as part of the country's containerized freight delivery logistics system could be a game-changer for Chinese manufacturers and consumers alike, according a release published on its website.
The report also said China's highways are becoming more congested, making it difficult to deliver goods and get value-for-money in trucking services.
In his government work report delivered in March, Premier Li Keqiang said the nation plans to invest more than 800 billion yuan ($128 billion) in railway construction for the whole of 2015.
