On April 30, the Consolidation Center of China Railway Express Chang'an international freight train (CRE (Chang'an) for short) and CRE (Chang'an) National Collaboration Center for Cross-border E-commerceenabled the transport services for Cainiao's cross-border e-commerce goods for the first time under the great support of Xi'an Customs District P.R.China, Xi'an Station Customs, China Railway Xi’an Group Co., Ltd., China Railway Container Transport Co., Ltd. (CRCT), and CRIntermodal Xi'an Railway Container Terminal.

This is an additional standardized and efficient logistics solution provided by Xi'an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group (ITL Group)—in cooperation with Cainiao—to build a concentrated transportation business demonstration area and leverage platform resource advantages.

The first Cainiao transport business adopted a new consolidation mode of customs declaration before crating. The packing operation was completed in the CRE (Chang'an) Consolidation Center and CRE (Chang'an) National Collaboration Center for Cross-border E-commerce, and the international logistics transportation is provided by the CRE (Chang'an). With mutual support of ITL Group's platforms, a portfolio of one-stop services is enabled for Cainiao business.

According to sources, CRE (Chang'an) Consolidation Center is the first railway transport customs supervision workplace ITL Group establishes in China to innovatively implement the new mode of customs declaration before crating under the guidance of customs authorities. Since the approval of establishment on February 7 this year, the Center has aroused positive echoes in the industry and has been affirmed by businesses. It will facilitate re-improvement in efficiency, expand the supply of goods in multiple ways and take other measures to maintain steady growth in business volume.

As the CRE (Chang'an) Consolidation Center and CRE (Chang'an) National Collaboration Center for Cross-border E-commerce are both in the Port Operation Area of Xi'an Comprehensive Bonded Zone, they can benefit from each other via integrated port resources in this zone and reciprocal guarantee for the supply of goods and services.

The two centers, coupled with CRE (Chang'an), further enrich ITL Group's full chain services, expand new value-added business modes, and launch the Cainiao services, providing an exemplary one-stop solution to Xi’an Port cross-border logistics.

As China's cross-border trade has grown rapidly in recent years, Cainiao sees the demand of importers and exporters for warehousing operations, logistics and transportation and focuses on promoting construction of international logistics channels. Its cross-border business is in a zoom. In the fourth quarter of 2021, it daily handled more than 5 million cross-border packages on average.

From "decentralized processing" to "centralized processing", the mode of customs declaration before crating has completely solved the pain point that if a crate is found something wrong in customs inspection, all other goods in the container will be delayed. In particular, cross-border e-commerce goods are highly fit for consolidation, so this also solves the pain point of Cainiao. In the future, the two centers will embrace more Cainiao's goods. They will give full play to their advantages in gathering resources in warehousing operation, customs supervision, and logistics and transportation, further standardize operation, improve the efficiency of customs clearance, and provide a solid service guarantee for increase in the transport volume of Cainiao's goods.

Centering on the goal of "consolidating the advantages of standardized and large-scale consolidation business, creating a demonstration zone for centralized transportation business", ITL Group will integrate broader resources and improve institutional innovation, actively explore a multi-mode and diversified development pattern, and improve the comprehensive service quality of international freight transport. It also focuses on constantly optimizing transportation plans and making the consolidation business more prosperous, so as to provide a strong driving force to advance the CRE (Chang'an) National Collaboration Center for Cross-border E-commerce.

On the morning of March 5, 2022, the westbound CRE Chang'an International Freight Train (Xi'an-Budapest, Hungary) and the eastbound Rail-sea Multimodal Freight Train (Xi'an-Egypt) of ITL Group's BYD Project started to go into service in Xi'an International Port Station.

Supported by ITL Group, Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group, and Evergreen Marine Corp., the eastbound rail-sea multimodal freight train relies on supporters' route resources and logistics and transportation advantages to provide services for BYD's "made-in-Xi'an" products. The westbound CRE Chang'an train runs along the Xi'an-Budapest route to deliver goods. The BYD project uses three rail-sea multimodal freight trains to transport complete parts of BYD vehicles. After loading at BYD's factory in Xi'an, the goods will be transported to Qingdao/Ningbo port by domestic trade railway within 2-3 days, then transported by sea by Evergreen Marine Corp. for 27 days, and finally arrive in Egypt for sale. The whole transportation time is about 29-30 days.

The westbound CRE Chang'an train delivers products, which are transported from BYD's factories in Dalian/Qingdao/Hangzhou to Xi'an by container trucks, direct to Budapest. The whole transportation time is about 20 days.

The operation of these trains marks that the domestic trade railways connecting Xi'an port and Qingdao/Ningbo ports have achieved regular operation, and can be seen as an additional practice of ITL Group contributing to Xi'an's development of the Asia-Europe Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

Based on eastbound and westbound trains, ITL Group's cooperation with BYD Group will create a new Asia-Europe-Africa Land-Sea Combined Transportation Corridor, which can promote the people-to-people and trade exchanges in the economic and trade expansion area that involves China, Central and Eastern Europe, and North Africa. It can also advance the economic development of countries in the region and benefit the common prosperity of the people in the economic belt. This is also an extra important move to practice the commitment to "extensively integrating into the general pattern of jointly developing the Belt and Road Initiative and speeding up the establishment of corridors connecting Central, South, and West Asian countries".

It is learned that ITL Group, Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group, and Evergreen Marine Corp. have tailor-made high-quality transport service programs for BYD, from loading, short barge transport, the safety of goods on the way, to the final unloading operation. The preparation and implementation of each link ensure the safe and smooth completion of cargo transportation. These programs not only make transportation more efficient, convenient, and stable, but also reduce the comprehensive logistics cost of clients more effectively, thus the service quality is highly affirmed by clients. ITL Group has been fulfilling the promise of "the mission must reach" with practical actions, further helping Shaanxi to improve the key links of the new energy vehicle industry chain, and contributing to the development of advanced manufacturing industries in Shaanxi and Xi'an.

In the future, under the full support of Xi'an Customs District P.R.China and China Railway Xi'an Group Co., Ltd., Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd. will continue to promote rail-sea multimodal transportation, make every effort to build an east-west international logistics channel in inland areas, focus on the 14th Five-Year Plan, further ensure the safety and stability of the international industrial chain and supply chain, and provide cross-border transport services for more inland advanced manufacturing enterprises, in order to let more products of "Intelligent Manufacturing in China" go abroad.

Recently, the railway transportation workplace of Xi'an Port Assembly Center under customs control is officially approved by Xi'an Customs District P.R.China, and becomes the only formal export assembly workplace under customs control approved by the customs. The new model of "customs declaration first and packing later" is innovatively implemented in this workplace, which fundamentally solves the pain point of "one ticket inspection and one cargo rejection" in bulk assembly. ITL Bozheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. has successfully built another competitive product of concentrated transportation business owned by ITL Group.

It is understood that the Assembly Center of CRE Chang'an international freight train is the first railway transportation workplace under customs control that innovatively implements the new model of "customs declaration first and packing later" for bulk cargo. The new model further optimizes the business process of assembling, greatly improves the timeliness of customs clearance, and reduces the transportation cost.

Assembly Center of CRE Chang'an international freight train, is located in the port operation area of Xi'an Comprehensive Bonded Zone, with an area of about 6,000 square meters (including the second phase). It is a railway transportation workplace under customs control applying the innovative assembly shipping model and intelligent assembly information management system developed by ITL Bozheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. under the guidance of customs and railway units. It is an important part of the construction of the China Railway Express (Xi'an) Collaboration Center of Xi'an ITL Park.

Hardware facilities

The Assembly Center is equipped with various functional areas such as turnover area, temporary storage area, packing area, temporary holding area and inspection area. Isolation fences with a height of not less than 2.5 meters and obvious distinguishing signs are used to provide a relatively independent regulatory environment for each function area.

The temporary storage area is divided into several groups of ship bay spaces with several cargo spaces. Besides, this area is equipped with an inspection X-ray machine for image acquisition and analysis.

The entrance and exit gateways of the Assembly Center are equipped with a gateway control system and equipment which meet the requirements of customs supervision. The entrance and exit passages are separated by isolation facilities and marked with obvious signs. The gateway system is networked 24 hours a day.

Information system

The Assembly Center is equipped with a 360-degree whole-process monitoring system, and connects with the customs supervision system to realize 24-hour monitoring in the whole area. At the same time, the online intelligent assembly information management system is developed for the Assembly Center, which can realize data interconnection through data on-site inspection and customs supervision system, and receive customs instructions efficiently and intelligently, realizing information management and efficient customs clearance.

Operation team

The Assembly Center is equipped with a number of warehouse management equipment such as the container front carrier and forklift, and multiple field operation teams with rich operation experience such as warehouse management, packing operation and scheme formulation, which can meet the operation demand of about 30 containers/week.

In the future, on the basis of the channel and platform advantages of CRE Chang'an international freight train, as well as a new regular, efficient and safe assembly model, the Assembly Center will attract more bulk cargo customers to carry out business cooperation, further expand the assembly business of ITL Group, and effectively promote the construction of China Railway Express (Xi'an) Collaboration Center.

CATTIER Champagne from the famous winery Champagne CATTIER, in the Reims Mountain of France, has arrived in China for the first time by the China Railway Express (Xi'an-Germany).

The Reims Mountain has always been recognized as one of the best champagne wine regions. Located in Chigny-les-Roses, Ludes and Rilly-la-Montagne, the heart of the Reims Mountain, CATTIER Champagne is acknowledged as a Premium and Grand Cru. In April 2015, the winery was awarded level 3 HVE certification, the highest level.

It is said that the classic brut champagne that traveled to China by the China Railway Express (Xi’an-Germany) this time was made with a blend of grapes from about 20 villages and aged for more than two years.

The wine is light golden yellow with a linear rise of bubbles after pouring in the glass. With a rich and complex nose and a long and fresh aftertaste, the wine has a pastry top note, a lightly fruity middle note and a finish of dried fruits, dried apricots and hazelnuts…

The first batch of CATTIER Champagne has already entered the Chinese market after the process of customs clearance in Xi'an Comprehensive Bonded Zone.

Currently, CATTIER Champagne is only displayed and sold in The Morning After Laochenggen Branch of Xi'an, which is located at No.23 on the first floor of the north side of the east gate of Laochenggen G-park, No.22 Xinghuo Road. In the store, everyone can taste the romance from France…

More champagnes will arrive in China by the China Railway Express (Chang'an) in the future.

The China Railway Express (Chang'an) "German Express" was chosen to carry CATTIER Champagne produced in France because Champagne CATTIER is located in the Reims Mountain in Paris, 200 km to Hamburg in Germany. This route only takes 10 to 12 days to arrive in Xi'an.

Since its operation, China Railway Express (Chang'an) has operated more than 10,000 trains, and gradually become the most stable operation, the highest frequency of departure, and the highest heavy-load rate in China. At present, China Railway Express runs along 15 trunk lines and reaches 45 stations, so that it almost fully covers Asia and Europe.

Popular Routes in Operation

China Railway Express (Chang’an) China-Europe Public Trains

China Railway Express (Chang’an) China-Europe Public Trains runs two lines regularly, Xi’an to Duisburg and Xi’an to Malaszewicze, with four trains and two returns a day. The stable operation time further brings the position of Xi’an Port as a gateway and hub into play to create a scale effect, reduce logistics costs and improve service efficiency.

China Railway Express (Chang'an) "German Express"

China Railway Express "German Express" departs from Xi’an on a weekly basis. It can arrive at Neuss in Germany within 10 to 12 days, which is the fastest China-Germany international railway freight in the world. On June 10, 2020, China Railway Express (Chang'an) "German Express" opened a new station, Vilnius Station. It only takes eight days to reach Vilnius by the German Express, the first line of China Railway Express that operates on a regular basis to Vilnius.

China Railway Express (Chang’an) "Central and Eastern Europe Route"

Specifically, the express route to Central and Eastern Europe departs from Xi'an to Budapest, Hungary via Chop, Ukraine, which costs only 13 days for the whole journey. The route to Pan-Eastern Europe dispatches trains to Vienna in Austria, Ploieşti in Romania, Istanbul in Turkey, and other cities, covering the entire territory of Central and Eastern Europe. The route to Kyiv (Odesa) costs ten days to directly arrive at Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

China Railway Express (Chang’an) "Southern and Northern Europe Distribution Route"

China Railway Express (Chang'an) Southern and Northern Europe Distribution Route (Xi'an-Rostock-Verona, Gothenburg, Stockholm) dispatches the first train from Xi'an Port. The southern and northern Europe distribution function of Rostock Port can provide more choices for the customers in the “last mile”. The whole journey takes about 15 days.

China Railway Express (Chang’an) "China-Europe Mixed Transportation Vehicle Train"

Vehicle Train uses containers to transport between Xi’an and Malaszewicze, which creates a new mode of vehicle transportation by containers and roll containers. At present, it dispatches four trains to Ghent and three trains back to Xi’an every week. On June 13, 2018, the first China Railway Express (Chang’an) Imported Vehicles Express arrived in Xi’an. On July 5, 2019, the Made in China cars were exported to Europe by the China Railway Express (Chang’an) for the first time, marking the realization of import and export trade at the automobile import port in Xi'an Port.

China Railway Express (Chang’an) "Sławków Direct Broad-gauge Railway"

The railway passes through Russia and enters Poland from Hrubieszow, the border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, with only one change in Alashankou. After entering Poland, the railway takes the broad-gauge line in Poland to the European hinterland. Compared with the traditional Malaszewicze route to Europe, there is one less change, which can effectively prevent from affecting the timeliness of the train due to the congestion at the change station. On September 4, 2020, the first China Railway Express (Chang’an) "Korea LG Train" shuttling between Xi’an and Sławków made its debut.

China Railway Express (Chang’an) "Transit Cargo Train (Japan and Korea-Xi’an-Europe)"

On July 2, 2021, a grand ceremony for the successful transfer of the first test train, which runs across Japan and Korea in the Eurasia Land-Sea Trade Corridor, was held at the automobile import port in Xi'an Port. By the Transit Cargo Test Train (Japan and Korea-Xi’an-Europe), LG Corp used China Railway Express (Chang’an) and combined sea-rail transportation to carry cargo for the first time. The test train departed from Malaszewicze (Poland) to Xi'an. Then it would transfer to Qingdao Port by railway and finally arrive in Korea by sea.

China Railway Express (Chang’an) "Xi’an-Eastern US Express"

On August 29, 2021, the 7th China Railway Express (Chang'an) Eastern US Express (Xi'an-New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston) departed, marking the regular operation of the China Railway Express (Chang'an) Eastern US Express. This railway has innovatively changed the traditional logistics and transportation mode of China-US trade, which has been mainly by sea for many years. China Railway Express (Chang’an) Eastern US Express has become a weekly public train connecting Asia, Europe and North America, which provides a more efficient China Railway Express service for Eastern US shippers.

In the future, Xi'an ITL Group will constantly improve the high-quality development of China Railway Express (Chang'an), and maintain a stable and safe operation of the global industrial chain and supply chain to strengthen the attraction of the "Bring-in" strategy and the competitiveness of the "Go Global" strategy of CRE (Chang'an) under the "dual circulation" development model. We will also spare no effort to build an international trade corridor with high efficiency, low cost and brilliant services.

On November 5, 2021, a signing ceremony for strategic cooperation between Dell Technologies, DB Schenker and ITL Group was held at Indigo Hotel Hongqiao Shanghai.

After cooperating with LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd, ITL Group has joined hands with DB Schenker once again to cooperate with Dell Technologies in building an international logistics channel for electronic information products.

Hao Huijie, Vice Governor of Shaanxi Province, Hu Jianping, Special Commissioner of the Ministry of Commerce in Xi'an, Liu Tianxiong, Deputy Secretary General of Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, Wu Tie, Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Party committee of the Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, Sun Jinghu, Deputy Director of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Commerce, Li Yong, Deputy Director of Office of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Government in Shanghai, Qu Jinwei, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of ITL Group, Zhai Ruopeng, Deputy General Manager of ITL Group, Xu Haiying, Chief Director of Global Import Logistics of Dell Technologies, Chen Limei, Vice President of Land Transport in Asia Pacific Area of DB Schenker and Zhu Keping, Director of Greater China Railway Transport of DB Schenker attended the signing ceremony.

In July 2021, ITL Group, Dell Technologies and DB Schenker successfully tested the Rostock. In this context, strategic cooperation contracts were signed with the help of The 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE), laying a solid foundation for the stable operation of the subsequent China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train.

Dell is the world's top computer system company, the leading provider of computer products and services, and one of the Fortune Global 500 companies. Dell is famous for producing, designing, selling household and office computers, and also engages in the high-end computer market, producing and selling servers, data storage equipment, and network equipment, etc.

Since its launch, China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train has launched more than 10,000 trains, with the most stable operation, the highest frequency of departure, and the highest heavy-load rate in China. At present, China Railway Express runs along 15 trunk lines and reaches 45 stations, so that it almost fully covers Asia and Europe.

China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train has long been committed to providing customized characteristic whole-process logistics solutions for customers. The Rostock Line is a customized characteristic line jointly developed by the three parties. Even during the peak operation period of China Railway Express, it can maintain the unique advantages of timeliness and stable schedule, which can greatly shorten the logistics cycle for enterprises, improve the response efficiency and turnover rate to overseas customers and reduce the capital occupation, thus achieving a win-win situation of improving delivery efficiency while lowering the logistics cost.

In the future, the high-quality operation of China Railway Express (CRE) Chang'an international freight train will not only help more export-oriented enterprises optimize the international supply chain, but also will surely further promote the inland development and aggregation of more international and domestic well-known enterprises in the inland through the construction of the international logistics channel, making greater contributions to the economic and trade exchanges of countries and regions along the Belt and Road!