Times saver: A person takes a photograph outside Boten railway station, part of the China-Laos Railway, in Laos. Cargo trains run a route that starts in Chongqing, before using this line to reach Padang Besar at the northern Malaysia-Thailand border. — Reuters
SHANGHAI: After running on the rails for 13 days, the first freight train serving a new route linking Chongqing municipality in Southwest China and South-East Asian nations reached Padang Besar, Malaysia, last Thursday, with its compartments fully loaded with industrial products.
The arrival, announced by the route’s operator on Monday, is seen as another milestone in enhancing ties with China’s trading partners, especially Asean.
Prior to the opening of this route, freight took about 25 days for delivery, as exports had to be sent to Shanghai first from other regions nationwide through the Yangtze River before reaching Penang, Malaysia, by sea freight.
With the addition of the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), a major international logistics project participated in by China and some of its trade partners, the logistics time from inland provinces to Malaysia is cut by about half.
“The operation of the new route not only enriches the logistics routes between Chongqing and Malaysia but also helps cut logistics time and costs,” said Gao Chenglin, sales manager of Yuxin’ou (Chongqing) Logistics Co, operator of the route.
According to the operator, cargo trains running on this route depart from Tuanjiecun Railway Station in Chongqing, head to the Laotian capital of Vientiane via the China-Laos Railway, then take a rail route in Thailand before reaching Padang Besar at the northern Malaysia-Thailand border.
Launched in December 2021, the China-Laos Railway has witnessed continuous growth in passenger and freight transportation volume. Now, the railway has become a vital conduit between traders in 25 provincial-level regions and those in Asean markets.
The railway company is also providing customised follow-up delivery solutions for clients, such as door-to-door services, after freight trains arrive.
Chongqing, located on the Yangtze River, boasts key geographic advantages and is an international logistics hub.
The municipality is a strategic pivot point for national development programmes in western regions and is a connecting point serving the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
In March 2011, the first freight train carrying electronics made in Chongqing started its journey on the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe express line.
The link, more than 11,000 kms long, begins in Chongqing, crosses the border at Alashankou, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and then passes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland before reaching Duisburg, Germany.
The journey takes an average of 16 days, less than half the time of the maritime route, and makes inland Chongqing a gateway to Western markets.
The project was later adopted by many major Chinese cities and collectively referred to as the China-Europe Express.
In 2021, Yuxin’ou opened international railway trains from Chongqing to Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and realised a seamless connection with the China-Europe Express in Chongqing, forming an international railway network that spans Europe and Asia. — China Daily/ANN
