Guangxi sees 5,000th freight train on New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor

On June 14, a sea-rail intermodal train carrying polyethylene from Singapore, as well as domestic dolomite, kaolin, and 102 containers, departed from the Qinzhou Port area of the China (Guangxi) Free Trade Zone towards the Xiaonanya Station in Chongqing.

This marked the completion of the 5,000th sea-rail intermodal train of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor Beibu Gulf Port in 2024, carrying the equivalent of 250,000 standard containers – a 20.8 percent year-on-year increase.

Since the beginning of this year, the infrastructure at Beibu Gulf Port has been improving at a faster rate, with six berths passing external open inspection and being put into operation at the same time.

Additionally, a direct shipping route from Beibu Gulf Port to Malaysia has been introduced, further enhancing the international hub port's capabilities. By the end of May, the trains had shipped 54,442 standard containers for foreign trade, a 44 percent year-on-year increase.

Among them, goods transported through the corridor from RCEP member countries amounted to 32,374 standard containers, accounting for 14 percent of the total and a 23 percent year-on-year increase.

Leveraging the corridor, Beibu Gulf Port achieved a cargo throughput of 126.91 million metric tons from January to May, a year-on-year increase of 4.96 percent, with container throughput reaching 3.513 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a year-on-year increase of 19.11 percent.

In May, the cargo throughput reached a record monthly high. The backhaul of container trains at Qinzhou Port currently sits at 650 TEUs per train, with a maximum daily loading capacity of up to 2,060 TEUs.

The 5,000th train departing from Beibu Gulf Port. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_df8bc987e060]