China's state railways handled 3.05 billion tons of cargo in the first three quarters of this year, providing reliable support for reducing logistics costs and ensuring stable economic operations, the railway operator said Tuesday.
The average daily freight loading stood at 188,000 wagons, a slight increase from the same period last year, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
The railway sector gave priority to the transport of key goods essential to the national economy and people's livelihoods, ensuring fast and efficient delivery.
During the Q1-Q3 period, 1.56 billion tons of coal were shipped, including 1.04 billion tons of thermal coal, while grain transport rose 15 percent year on year to 88.96 million tons.
During the autumn harvest season in September, 10.25 million tons of grain were transported, representing a 26-percent increase year on year.
The railway authorities also accelerated the development of integrated logistics services and strengthened cooperation with enterprise supply chains. In the first nine months, 1,629 logistics package contracts were signed, with contracted freight volume reaching 1.32 billion tons.
Meanwhile, the railway sector deepened reform and innovation to develop multimodal transport. A total of 244 "single-document" rail-water intermodal products were launched this year, pushing containerized rail-water transport volume up 8.9 percent year on year. Rail-road intermodal volume surged 54 percent to 348 million tons, supported by the premium rail-road routes development.
From January to September, China-Europe freight trains made more than 16,000 trips, up 15 percent year on year, while China-Central Asia freight trains exceeded 11,000 trips, edging up 2.0 percent.
Over the same period, the cargo volume along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China's western regions to global markets, exceeded 970,000 TEUs.
China's railways handle 3.05 bln tons of cargo in Q1-Q3
