High-Quality Service Boosts BRI Cooperation, Promotes Eurasian Economic and Trade Exchanges

　　An official from CR's Freight Department stated that CR earnestly implements President Xi Jinping's important remarks on jointly building the "Belt and Road" Initiative (BRI) and a series of instructions on the CRE train. Upholding the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, CR strengthens domestic and international coordination and cooperation. It accelerates the construction of an efficient transportation system, diversified corridor network, innovative development system and safety assurance system for the CRE train. This continues to drive the service towards higher quality, greater efficiency and enhanced safety, injecting new momentum into serving the high-quality development of the BRI, promoting China's high-standard opening-up, and ensuring the stability and smoothness of international supply chains.

　　The corridor network is progressively improving, with CRE train service coverage spanning nearly all of Eurasia. The Eurasian railway transport network is becoming increasingly dense. Domestically, three main corridors, namely western, central and eastern corridors, have been established to attract cargo from different directions. Abroad, a parallel three-line pattern in the north, central, and south has formed. Recently, trial operations of the southern corridor have been vigorously promoted, opening new routes into Europe. CR has conducted extensive consultations with railway authorities of countries along the routes regarding transport organization and pricing, fostering diversified development of overseas corridors. The overseas corridor network pattern of "smooth, efficient, multi-directional extension and seamless sea-land connection" is gradually being perfected. Currently, 128 cities within China have opened CRE train services, reaching 229 cities in 26 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. The capacity of border ports continues to expand. Expansion and upgrading projects have been successively implemented at the five major border ports of Alataw Pass, Horgos Port, Erenhot Railway Port, Manzhouli Port and Suifenhe Port, as well as their hinterland corridors. A new northern port at Tongjiang has also been constructed and put into operation, greatly enhancing port throughput capacity. Presently, the combined daily handover capacity of the six major ports reaches 184 trains, providing strong support for increasing CRE train services. An initial framework for international multimodal transport corridors has been established. For sea-rail combined transport, new international sea-rail routes through the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea have been developed in the west. In the east, seamless connections with the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the Yangtze River Golden Waterway and coastal ports have been realized, forming a new sea-rail transport corridor linking East Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe. There are currently 28 scheduled CRE train routes originating from coastal ports such as Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao and Lianyungang. For road-rail combined transport, services such as the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan train have been launched, effectively alleviating traffic pressure at border railway ports like Alataw Pass and Horgos Port.

　　Transportation organization continues to optimize, with ongoing improvements in capacity and efficiency of the CRE Train. Innovative transport modes have been developed. Based on operational characteristics inside and outside China, the maximum train length and traction load for the 120 km/h CRE trains have been increased to 55 wagons and 3,000 tons, respectively. Customs clearance facilitation has steadily improved. The digital port system of the 95306 platform has been put into use, enabling border stations to handle customs procedures in advance based on domestic and international departure information, greatly enhancing customs clearance efficiency. Working closely with customs authorities, CR actively optimizes the "fast-track" railway customs clearance mode, reducing clearance time from about half a day to under 30 minutes, with the fastest times only taking a few minutes. Cargo organization has become more efficient. Fourteen regional CRE train consolidation centers have been established nationwide to accelerate the formation of an efficient "main and branch combined, hub-based distribution" transport system, creating internationally influential modern logistics hubs. Currently, trains dispatched from consolidation centers account for 88% of all CRE train trips nationwide. CR's affiliated CRCT has established overseas subsidiaries in Kazakhstan, Germany, Russia and other countries to deepen pragmatic cooperation with local railways, logistics, ports and freight forwarding companies, jointly developing two-way cargo sources. The CRE train now operates balanced departures and returns, with an overall full container load rate close to 100%.

　　Service capacity has been upgraded, enhancing the overall competitiveness of the CRE train. Full-route scheduled CRE train has been operated. The CRE train has launched full-route scheduled trains both domestically and internationally, operating a stable weekly schedule of 17 trains. These full-route services reduce average transit times by over 30% compared to regular trains and increase average cargo value per container by 41%. The product portfolio has become more diversified. Building on traditional bulk commodities and daily consumer goods trains, the service now meets the demands for specialized cargo transportation by providing targeted supply chain logistics solutions. Specialized trains have been introduced for international express mail, cross-border e-commerce, cold-chain food logistics and automobile shipments, satisfying the diversified, personalized and refined market needs of enterprises along the routes. Cargo categories continue to expand. The CRE train now transports 53 categories covering over 50,000 product types. High value-added goods such as automobiles and parts, machinery equipment and electronic and electrical products have become the main export cargoes, accounting for over 60% of shipments in 2024. The railway has successfully addressed safety challenges in transporting new energy vehicles and consumer lithium batteries by rail, enabling China-made "new trio" products, namely new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, to reach global markets via the CRE train. Customer experience continues to improve. In 17 overseas countries, 131 container return yards have been established, covering the vast majority of overseas CRE train hub cities, facilitating container returns for customers. A dedicated CRE train customer service center has been set up, along with the launch of a portal website. A one-stop comprehensive service platform has been built covering demand submission, contract signing, container pickup and return, customs declaration and inspection. This platform provides global customers with full insurance, cargo tracking, electronic seals, IoT-enabled containers and other tailored services to meet diverse customer needs.

　　Expanding influence has injected new momentum into regional economic and social development. The CRE train optimizes regional openness. Stretching east to west and connecting internal and external markets, it opens new channels for the Eurasian inland region, promoting better integration of countries and regions along the route into the open global economy. The China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, a key part of the Silk Road Economic Belt, links the Bohai Rim Economic Circle in China with the European economic zone. Leveraging the CRE train, Inner Mongolia connects supply chains for wheat, beef and other agricultural and livestock products with Moscow, Khorgos, Yekaterinburg and other cities. The corridor accelerates the export of local agricultural products such as sunflower seeds and dehydrated vegetables and facilitates imports of zinc concentrates, copper concentrates and oil sunflower kernels, enhancing the level of outward-oriented economic development. The CRE train expands Eurasian trade exchanges. It provides more convenient trade conditions for countries along the route. Chinese-made consumer electronics, home appliances and daily consumer goods reach Europe faster and at better prices. Specialty products such as Spanish wine, Dutch cheese, Polish apples, Thai durian and Laotian bananas enter the daily lives of Chinese consumers, opening broad market opportunities for trade between Eurasian countries. The railway also promotes livelihood improvements along the route. Its rapid development has driven growth in industries, trade and investment. Railways, freight forwarding and logistics companies along the corridor have gained more stable income, creating more jobs and income sources for local people. Major arrival cities of the CRE train, including Lodz in Poland, Duisburg in Germany and Madrid in Spain, have actively modernized local infrastructure, stimulating related industrial growth. The Ulanqab-Erlianhot international logistics hub leverages the CRE train to transform the corridor economy into an industrial economy, forming a cross-border logistics network centered on railways. It attracts clusters of industries such as auto parts and wood processing, achieving a virtuous cycle of "trade driven by logistics and production gathered by trade." Cultural exchanges among countries along the route have deepened. The CRE train brings more opportunities for cultural communication and integration between China and Europe. In May 2025, an international cultural train was launched between Xi'an, China, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, linking the historical and cultural heritage of both countries and opening a new chapter of cultural exchange dubbed the "moving cultural corridor." Chinese cultural goods such as ceramics, tea, theatrical props and exhibition items now travel abroad via the CRE train, showcasing Chinese culture to the world.

　　The official stated that CR will continue to implement the eight high-quality action plans for jointly building the BRI. Upholding the Silk Road spirit of peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, CR will drive the CRE train towards higher quality, better efficiency and greater safety, providing strong transport support for promoting Eurasian economic and trade exchanges and serving China's high-standard opening-up.