A new timetable for freight services operating between China and Europe was one of several major initiatives announced at the second China-Europe Railway Express International Cooperation Forum that took place in Xi’an last month.

The forum was hosted by China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, China Railway (CR), the General Administration of Customs and the government of Shaanxi province.

The new fully scheduled China-Europe Railway Express (CERE) timetable increases the number of services to over 1000 a year, with seven new routes added:

  • Changsha - Poznań via Horgos, one train a week with a transit time of 12 days
  • Chongqing - Budapest via Alashankou, one train every two weeks (11 days)
  • Jinan - Budapest via Alashankou, one train every two weeks (12 days)
  • Shijiazhuang - Warsaw via Erenhot, one train per week (14 days)
  • Xi’an - Budapest via Alashankou, one train per week (10 days)
  • Xi’an - Prague via Horgos, one train per week (11 days), and
  • Zhengzhou to Hamburg via Alashankou, one train a week (11 days).

All services operate to a fixed timetable agreed by all relevant parties along the routes. CR says that when compared with conventional CERE services on the same routes, fully-scheduled trains have reduced the end-to-end transit time by an average of over 30% and increased the average value per container by 41%. This is the fourth full-service timetable to be introduced since the first in 2022.

A Yuan 30bn ($US 4.24bn) special-purpose loan from China Development Bank to China Railway Express was also announced at the forum. The new finance will support corridor development, port construction, hub infrastructure, support facilities, and operations. China Development Bank has already provided Yuan 7.59bn in loans for CERE projects in the first three quarters of this year.

The forum saw progress on a wide range of other initiatives, including:

  • signing of an agreement to deepen cooperation on freight routes between China and Europe
  • signing agreements for 16 cooperation projects, including three joint platform projects, four finance-related projects, six facility connectivity projects, and three trade facilitation projects
  • creation of the Eurasia Interconnect Holding Company
  • signing an agreement to increase capacity on routes across the Caspian Sea, and
  • confirmation that China Railway Container Transport (CRCT) has joined Middle Corridor Multimodal, the joint venture established by Azerbaijan Railways (ADY), Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) and Georgian Railway (GR).