Full-time Schedule Enables Faster China-Europe Freight Train Service

At Booth 520, Hall N2 of the 9th Asian Logistics Biennale 2023 on June 15, Xi'an International Inland Port Investment & Development Group (ITL Group) held a press conference on the operations of China-European freight trains with a full-time schedule.

At the conference, Zhai Ruopeng, Deputy General Manager of ITL Group, delivered a speech on the product launch; Shao Boer, General Manager of Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd., gave a brief introduction to the full-time schedule train operations and released the products of the first import train and the second export train with a full-time schedule; Song Linlin, General Manager of Xi'an International Inland Port Bozheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., promoted the Express LCL product; Tabea Klang, Chief Sales Officer of DB Cargo Eurasia GmbH, explained the current overseas operations; and Zhu Keping, Railway Director of DB Schenker Greater China shared client experience.

Zhai Ruopeng, Deputy General Manager of ITL Group

The launch of the full-time schedule trainservice is credited to the market demand, the support and exploration of clients, and the concerted cooperation between China Railway Group Limited and foreign railway companies in the early stage. It marks the first time a China-Europe freight train ran on a full-time schedule throughout the whole journey: the China section, the broad gauge section and the European section. With a more stable transit time, the full-time schedule freight train service can be compared to passenger service on high-speed rail lines.

With the strong support of China Railway International Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd., the first import train and the second export train with a full-time schedule will start running on June 27 and July 1 respectively. The latter will further meet the market needs of clients, optimize the operation efficiency of the first export train, and allow clients to experience the 2.0 version of the full-time schedule train service.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to China Railway International Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd. and the partners who helped launch the second full-time schedule export train, as well as all media friends present today for their long-term attention and support.

Shao Boer, General Manager of Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd.

In order to promote the formation of a stable domestic and overseas transit time of China-Europe freight trains and better meet clients' logistics needs, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. determined to launch the domestic and overseas full-time schedule train service after communication and coordination with the railway authorities of countries along the routes. Xi'an International Port Station was listed as the departure station of full-time schedule trains, and Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd. became the first platform company in China to operate domestic and overseas full-time schedule trains.

On October 26, 2022, Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd. dispatched China's first domestic and overseas full-time schedule China-Europe freight train. With a stable transit time of 11 days, the service has become a smash hit with the best transit time in the market.

Full-time schedule trains run in strict accordance with the standards of dwell time at border stations, and priority is given to their formation, trailer transport and departure. The move effectively shortens the operation time of all links of the China-Europe freight train service, reduces the invalid dwell time related to reloading at port stations, ensures that the service of each section is completed according to the handover date/time and specified train number, and improves the service quality of China-Europe freight trains in the whole journey and their market competitiveness.

Song Linlin, General Manager of Xi'an International Inland Port Bozheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd.

Relying on the resources of China Railway Express (Chang'an), Xi'an International Inland Port Bozheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. integrates sea and air transport resources and channels to provide diversified comprehensive services. It not only provides LCL transport for micro-, small and medium sized enterprises, but also designs customized supply chain solutions for large manufacturing enterprises and multinational companies.

Since Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd. successfully launched the full-time schedule train service on October 26, 2022, we have realized accurate arrival at all stations along the routes. Relying on the full-time schedule train service and the advantage of "customs declaration before container loading" at the LCL Center, we have successfully rolled out the Railway Express LCL product. The train frequency between Xi'an and Duisburg has been increased to two outbound trips and one inbound trip every week. Through in-transit distribution, the service of the trains to Hamburg and Duisburg in Germany can cover France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and other countries.

Tabea Klang, CSO of DB Cargo Eurasia GmbH

DB Cargo has been promoting the development of the Eurasian Corridor to ensure a fast and reliable supply chain network between China and Europe. In this regard, ITL Group shares the same goal with us. Thanks to the railway administrations in China and Europe, including the plans of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., and the support of Deutsche Bahn's top management, DB Cargo and ITL Group have been running full-time schedule trains since October 2022.

Undoubtedly, the full-time schedule train service has been a very successful program in the rail transport market so far, with an average transit time reduced to 11 days. Service quality, transit time, stability and environmentally friendly transport are key factors in the future development of freight transport, and the full-time schedule train service is a very important milestone. DB Cargo, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. and ITL Group, have set the milestone for the future freight development of the Eurasian Corridor. The impact of the global external environment and economic development requires us to rethink how to ensure the stable rail freight transport service along the Eurasian corridor. I think the full-time schedule train service is a brilliant product from the joint efforts of DB Cargo and ITL Group.

Zhu Keping, Railway Director of DB Schenker Greater China

Since the service launch in October last year, DB Schenker has maintained close cooperation with ITL Group from preliminary testing to regular weekly organization of goods shipment. I think it's responsible to say that the full-time schedule trains have performed very well in transit time, with about 11 days on average from Xi'an to Duisburg, even in face of many unfavorable factors such as port congestion and overseas shortage of wagons. The robust performance has been widely recognized among our clients. Some companies have even replaced air transport partially with the full-time schedule train service, which really helps them reduce costs and increase efficiency.

This year, we have made many breakthroughs together with ITL Group. We have successfully tested incubator transport, vehicle transport, and temporary import and export transport on full-time schedule trains. I would like to thank my colleagues at ITL Group for their open and innovative attitude towards the full-time schedule train service. Instead of resting on their laurels, they keep developing and exploring the full-time schedule train service. I believe that we can provide clients with more application scenarios in the future.

Background of the full-time schedule train service

On October 26, 2022, under the leadership and guidance of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. and with the strong support of China Railway Container Transport Corp. Ltd. and China Railway International Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd., China's first domestic and overseas full-time schedule China-Europe freight train departed. The service was jointly provided by railway companies in seven countries including Xi'an International Inland Port Multimodal Transportation Co., Ltd., DB Cargo, and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. After 11 days, the train successfully arrived at the destination station — Duisburg, Germany on November 5, 2022.

This marks the first time a China-Europe freight train ran on full-time schedule throughout the whole journey: the China section, the broad gauge section and the European section, with faster and more stable transit time.

Characteristics of the full-time schedule train service

●Optimal route planning:

Full-time schedule trains shall run in strict accordance with the standards of dwell time at border stations, trains with a fixed train number shall exit at a fixed port, and receiving routes and shunting operation plans shall be reasonably planned.

●Highest priority:

Priority is given to formation, trailer transport and departure for them is organized efficiently to accelerate the circulation, declaration and acceptance of bills. At the same time, coordination and communication with customs border inspection officers are strengthened, and production information is forecast to speed up the efficiency of inspection and customs clearance, in a bid to ensure that the service of each section is completed according to the handover date/ time and specified train number.

● Optimal formation model:

The 41+9 formation model, the optimal one for the tracks of the European section, is adopted to minimize the reloading time at each gauge change.

Transit time of the full-time schedule train service

The train is operated on a regular basis. It departs from Xi'an International Port at 3:55 a.m. every Wednesday to provide customers with stable and efficient express services.

01 According to the transit time data of trains that have arrived at the destination, the average transit time for the whole journey is 12.3 days, including 2.3 days for the domestic section and 10.02 days for the overseas sections.

02 Compared with the ordinary train to Duisburg operated in the same period, the full-time schedule train spends 6.91 days and 8.26 days less on average in the domestic section and in the whole journey respectively.

Support to the full-time schedule train service

In order to ensure the smooth departure and shipment of full-time schedule trains, a special team has been set up to be responsible for the management, and a weekly work schedule of full-time schedule trains has been drawn up. Special personnel are assigned to take charge of all links in the whole process from goods source organization, document review, train entry into stations, customs declaration to whole-journey tracking. We make every effort to ensure the long-term stable operations of full-time schedule trains.

The operations of the train will promote Shaanxi to accelerate the development of export-oriented economy, build a China Railway Express (Xi'an) Assembly Center, further amplify Xi'an's advantages in location, transit time and costs under the Belt and Road Initiative, serve the domestic circulation well, better integrate into the international circulation, and contribute to the construction of a new development pattern with the domestic circulation as the mainstay and the domestic and international markets reinforcing each other.