At Alashankou Station in northern Xinjiang in September, the first ray of sunshine falls on the iron roof of the grain truck. The loading and unloading workers secured the last bag of newly harvested wheat, and with a long whistle, the train loaded with autumn harvest new grain slowly drove out of the platform and plunged westward along the tracks into the morning light of Central Asia. This is the first batch of cross regional grain special trains to be launched during the autumn harvest season of 2026. The railway grain transportation corridor of the Eurasian continent has entered its busiest period of the year.

The grain truck has reached a new speed

On the last day of August, a scattered grain special train departed from the main production area in Northeast China and arrived at the grain depot in Shandong's sales area in just 48 hours, half faster than traditional transportation methods. In the first eight months of 2026, the national railway grain transportation volume surged to 9.3 million tons, 1.1 million tons more than the same period last year. In August, the monthly transportation volume directly reached 1.1 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 35%. The sealed bulk grain K truck ran down the entire journey, saving even half of the packaging loss of the grain bags, and the logistics ledger of the grain trading enterprise became much lighter at once.

The whistle of cross-border trains is also sounding louder than in previous years. In the first 8 months, the railway grain export volume reached 7.2 million tons, an increase of 900000 tons compared to the same period last year. The transportation volume towards Uzbekistan has increased by 50%, while towards Tajikistan it has maintained a stable growth rate of nearly 20%. Grain trucks that used to have to wait in line at the port for two or three days can now complete the procedures and leave on the same day, with wheels turning much faster than before.

New Market Runs Incremental Miracle

The most surprising thing is the transportation volume towards Afghanistan, which surged to 655000 tons in the first eight months, 4.4 times that of the same period last year. Many experienced drivers who frequently travel on cross-border routes say that grain trucks used to be rare on this line, but now they can encounter several special trains loaded with grain passing by every week. Even the railway transportation volume of grain to China has risen to 558000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 33%. More and more high-quality grain from Central Asia is continuously transported into the domestic market along the railway tracks.

In order to catch the peak of autumn harvest transportation, a specially established railway grain transportation working group has been fully operational throughout the entire chain. The staff verifies the status of the lines and vehicle reserves at each station, monitoring the loading rhythm of each batch of grain, preventing empty cars from piling up in the station yard, and ensuring that each grain car can be fully loaded, travel quickly, and not be delayed.

Next to the border in the evening, another grain truck emerged from the checkpoint under the glow of the sunset. Amidst the sound of wheels rolling over the seams of the railway tracks, harvested grains from different production areas are steadily falling down this steel corridor into every grain silo waiting for them.Editor/Cheng Liting