China's railway network transported a total of 3.727 billion tonnes of freight from January to November, up 2.7 percent year on year, with international shipments posting noticeable growth, according to data released by China Railway on Friday.
The released data showed that cross-border shipments were stable and smooth during the period. From January to November, the China-Europe (Asia) freight train service operated 31,200 trips, increasing by nine percent year on year.
Specifically, the China-Europe freight train service completed 1,852 trips in November, up 21 percent compared with the same period last year and marking a historical high for monthly operations.
China-Laos Railway recorded a total of 4.98 million tonnes of freight transported by its cross-border freight train service, up 15 percent year on year, according to the data.
The new western land-sea corridor train service sent 1.31 million twenty-foot equivalent units of containers, a year-on-year increase of 55 percent, the data showed.
China posts railway freight growth, highlighted by int'l shipments
Impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is pushing Gulf countries to revisit costly plans for pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, so that they can continue to export oil and gas, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.
"Officials and industry executives say new pipelines may be the only way to reduce Gulf countries' enduring vulnerability to disruption in the strait, even though such projects would be expensive, politically complex and take years to complete," said the report.
"Previous plans for pipelines across the region have repeatedly stalled, undone by high costs and complexity," it said.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north.
Around a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which also carries about one quarter of global seaborne oil trade.
Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities on Feb. 28, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.
Gulf countries consider new pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz: Financial Times
