China-Europe railway freight increasing

Railway freight lines connecting China with Europe via land ports in the northeastern region recorded 2,000 inbound and outbound trips in the first quarter of this year as of Sunday — a year-on-year increase of 7 percent, according to China Railway Harbin Group.

The trains, which pass through Manzhouli Port in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and through Suifenhe Port and Tongjiang Port in Heilongjiang province, moved 210,000 standard shipping containers, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent. It was a record high, the group said.

Since the beginning of this year, the volume of trains passing through the three ports accounted for about one-third of the whole country, representing continuous improvement in the quality of cross-border logistics.

Suifenhe Port has seen double-digit growth for five consecutive months.

Since the opening of China-Europe freight routes at Tongjiang Port in July last year, the port has recorded more than 100 trips.

There are currently 24 rail routes in use for China-Europe freight via the three ports. Trains move daily necessities, general merchandise, mechanical equipment, metals, agricultural products and timber between more than 60 Chinese cities and European cities in 14 countries.