On August 18, Xu Jianping, a department director of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference that the next step, the Office of the leading group on advancing Belt and Road development will work with all relevant sides, focusing on the high-quality development of China-Europe freight trains around five points. The “China-Europe Freight Train Development Report (2021)” was also released at the conference.

According to Xu, the first is to strengthen the facility support capability. Focusing on bottleneck sections and congested ports, actively promote the upgrading and reconstruction projects and the capacity expansion and reconstruction of key port stations, and actively expand new operating channels with Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, West Asia and other countries. Continuously optimize the domestic layout of the China-Europe freight train assembly center, enhance the assembly capacity, and accelerate the transformation of China-Europe railway transport from “point-to-point” to “hub-to-hub”. At the same time, it will further promote the construction of the intergovernmental cooperation mechanism between China and the countries along the route, and guide and promote relevant countries to speed up the resolution of the bottleneck sections of the rail transportation within their borders.

The second is to focus on improving the quality and efficiency of China-Europe trains. Continue to optimize the transportation organization, expand the supply of goods for eastbound transportation, and promote the intensive and efficient use of transportation resources. Adhere to quality first and efficiency first, improve the quality-benefit-oriented operation evaluation system of the freight trains, and guide more transportation resources to favor enterprises and routes with good operating quality.

The third is to innovate the operation management and development model of China-Europe freight trains. Accelerate the construction of the China-Europe train operation monitoring, evaluation and early warning information platform and railway smart ports, and promote the digitalization of railway transportation. Innovate the service mode and improve the multimodal transport service combining the China-Europe freight train with the sea and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. Fully tap the rich cultural and historical resources of countries and regions along the route, and explore the operation of “tourist trains” when conditions are ripe. Actively explore “transportation and trade integration” to further enhance the added value and profitability of China-Europe rail transportation.

Fourth, focus on building an international cooperation network for China-Europe freight trains. Continue to make good use of the international cooperation platform of the China-Europe Freight Train Transportation Joint Working Group, and strengthen communication and cooperation with other countries in terms of transportation organization, freight rate coordination, and route expansion.

The fifth is to strengthen the risk prevention of the operation of China-Europe freight trains. Continuously deepen communication with relevant departments of countries along the route, and strengthen the safety early warning of the transportation operation. Guide domestic and foreign participating enterprises to continuously improve security measures, and provide a guarantee for the safe and stable operation of China-Europe freight trains.