In the early morning, the Nanxi River Valley is still shrouded in a thin mist, and the whistle has already sounded on the mountainside. At 10:50 am on October 15th, an international freight train loaded with goods slowly drove out of the platform, with its wheels pressing over the steel beams of the China Vietnam Railway Bridge, heading towards the Vietnamese Old Street Station across the river. This seemingly ordinary crossing has frozen a number: the total safe operation of the meter gauge Central Asia international freight train has exceeded 5200 trains, and the freight volume has exceeded 1.9801 million tons.

The border station on the century old meter track

The China Vietnam meter gauge railway, where Shanjiao Station is located, has an even older name - the Yunnan Vietnam Railway. The entire railway was opened in 1910 with a gauge of only one meter, making it one of the earliest international railway channels in China. For over a hundred years, it has been known as a world-class project along with the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal, and has also left iconic buildings such as the pedestrian bridge. Nowadays, Shanshan Station faces Vietnam Laojie Station across the river and is the only meter gauge border station of China Railway Group, undertaking the two core businesses of China Vietnam international intermodal transportation and Central Asia freight trains. In December 2017, under the joint promotion of multiple departments such as railways, customs, and enterprises from both China and Vietnam, international freight trains were first operated in a scheduled form, and the century old line has since had a fixed schedule and rhythm.

Five fixed mode running acceleration

The Central Asia train departs from Kaiyuan in China and Haiphong in Vietnam, adopting a five fixed mode - fixed loading location, operating route, train number, arrival and departure time, and transportation price. It runs 2 to 4 trains daily, forming a cross-border transportation mode of railway sea coordination. Sulfur and other raw materials are loaded onto rice tracks and transported into China after landing at Haiphong Port. They are processed into fertilizers and then transported back in the opposite direction, which reduces costs and improves efficiency. In the past 9 years, the meter gauge Central Asian trains have accounted for 40% of the total international intermodal transport volume between China and Vietnam, and the proportion of import and export goods has remained basically the same. From 2023 to 2025, the annual import and export volume of ports will remain stable at around 300000 to 400000 tons; In the first 10 months of this year, the entry and exit volume reached 94000 tons.

The old passage welcomes a new moment

Behind the numbers is a whole set of meticulous maintenance. China Railway Kunming Bureau continues to optimize various logistics links, strengthen the organization of cargo loading and unloading, and ensure timely operation of trains; Strengthen the inspection and maintenance of vehicles before and after departure, and promptly eliminate potential faults and hazards; Strengthen the construction of cross-border channels, collaborate with customs and border inspection departments to achieve 24-hour appointment clearance, and significantly improve the efficiency of customs declaration and inspection. With the launch of the construction of the Laojie Hanoi Haiphong standard gauge railway, this century old corridor will also be connected to the new standard gauge network, and the freight radius will further extend to the hinterland of Southeast Asia.

A whistle, passing through a hundred years. From steam locomotives in 1910 to today's five fixed trains, the meter gauge is not fast, but it has never stopped; The 5200 train is not the endpoint, but the starting point of the next journey of this international logistics corridor.Editor/Yang Meiling