Equipped with 47 carriages carrying 94 containers, the X8024 Asia-Europe freight train departed for Madrid from the city of Yiwu on July 21. The departure was a significant one, as it brought the number of China-Europe train journeys to the milestone of 2,000.
Between the departure of the first train and the 500th, four years passed; between number 501 and number 1,000, the time was reduced to a mere seven months. From 1,001 to 1,500? Just five months. And only three and a half months passed between 1,501 and 2000.
In the past several years, China Railway Corporation (CRC) has viewed China-Europe passages as an important signifier. The company considered those numbers while planning its One Belt, One Road initiative, and also while improving communication with local governments along the lines.
The number and scope of China-Europe freight train service are both growing. In 2015, the number of trains doing China-Europe routes more than doubled. In the first half of 2016, year-on-year growth was 150 percent. In the new route map released on May 15, 13 lines had been added. The number of lines is now 39 in total, which significantly expands the area that was previously covered. The trains travel to eight different European countries and over a dozen cities.
To ensure timeliness, CRC contracted a variety of experts to supervise container allocation, general operations, collection and transfers. As a result, the current on-time rate is nearly 100 percent.
The cost of logistics keeps decreasing, and CRC offers a preferential policy for freight. The corporation sent research teams to Poland, Germany and Lithuania to learn about overseas commodity supplies. Trains have also begun delivering commodities like clothing, wine, furniture and automobile parts.
As operation of the China-Europe passages is maturing, these routes are becoming a safe, fast and environmentally friendly option. Governments and corporations are both taking notice, and growth is unlikely to slow any time soon.
