The opening ceremony of Guangxi Qinzhou Railway Container Central Station is held on June 30. [Photo provided by Li Ziyu to chinadaily.com.cn]

As a China-Europe freight train loaded with 70 container cargoes departed from Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region to Duisburg, Germany on June 30, the Guangxi Qinzhou Railway Container Central Station was officially put into operation.  

The railway container station in Qinzhou is a key sea-railway transportation project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in western China. The first phase of the project started construction in July 2018, covering an area of about 1,268 mu (84.53 hectares), with a total designed handling capacity of 1.05 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year and a total investment of about 900 million yuan ($131.07 million). It is operated by CRIntermodal Guangxi Co.

According to Wu Yongqi, chairman of CRIntermodal Guangxi, the project adopted international first-class railway station construction standards, and is highly smart and informative. Cargoes can be transferred between the ship and the train directly.

The construction of the Land-Sea Trade Corridor has provided strong support for the development of logistics in western China. It has promoted the western region as being a new frontier of reform and opening up. The Qinzhou Railway Container Central Station will solve the problem of the sea-railway connection, as well as optimize the efficiency, cost, and transportation links.

Wei Ran, executive deputy director of the Planning and Construction Management Office of the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, is interviewed at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided by Li Ziyu to chinadaily.com.cn]

Wei Ran, executive deputy director of the Planning and Construction Management Office of the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, said at the opening ceremony that the operation of the Qinzhou Railway Container Central Station is of great significance to building Guangxi as an international portal of the Land-Sea Trade Corridor in western China.

In the future, the office will build the container central station into a modern, smart, efficient, and excellent service station, which will seamlessly connect with Qinzhou Port.

A China-Europe freight train bound for Duisburg, Germany sets out from Qinzhou Railway Container Central Station in Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo provided by Li Ziyu to chinadaily.com.cn]