In autumn in northern Shanxi, the conveyor belt under the loading tower stays up all night. A special train of ten thousand tons of electric coal is loaded and sets off in a few minutes, speeding eastward along the Daqin Line towards the port and power plant. This scene is a microcosm of the national railway freight transportation in the first three quarters of this year. On October 20, 2026, it was learned from China Railway Group Co., Ltd. that in the first three quarters, the national railway had sent a total of 3.05 billion tons of goods, with an average daily loading of 188000 vehicles, a slight increase from the same period last year, and continued to operate at a high level.

Stable supply of energy and food

The railway department will leverage the advantages of a nationwide railway network and centralized and unified transportation dispatch and command, increase the efforts to transport coal from major production areas such as Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, and new areas, and ensure that coal for electricity is fully loaded and delivered quickly. The coordinated efforts of heavy-duty channels such as Daqin, Haoji, Lanxin, and Wali have led to a three-dimensional pattern of coal transportation from the west to the east, north to the south, and Xinjiang to the outside, allowing coal to flow along with electricity demand; Simultaneously deeply integrated into the enterprise supply chain, developed 84 coal storage base projects. In the first three quarters, the national railway sent 1.56 billion tons of coal, including 1.04 billion tons of thermal coal, and the coal storage of power plants directly supplied by the national railway remained at a high level.

There are also green channels for agricultural materials, and the transportation of grain is carried out with a tilt in transportation capacity and priority guarantee. In the first three quarters, the national railway sent 88.96 million tons of grain, a year-on-year increase of 15%. Among them, after entering the autumn harvest season in September, a total of 10.25 million tons were sent, a year-on-year increase of 26%.

Logistics product upgrade

Guided by market demand, the railway logistics product system continues to be optimized. The logistics general contractor provides customers with one-stop quotation, one-time commission, one contract, and worry free customized services throughout the process. From January to September, a total of 1629 contracts were signed, with a contracted transportation volume of 1.32 billion tons. The rapid operation of passenger trains has been encrypted, with 37500 cross bureau freight trains operating in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 38%. The maximum speed can reach 120 kilometers per hour, accurately matching the needs of e-commerce, cold chain and other fast logistics.

The role of the China Multimodal Transport Development Alliance has been fully demonstrated, with railways, ports, and shipping companies working together to create 8 fully tracked demonstration lines for intermodal transportation. Since the beginning of this year, 244 single track intermodal transportation projects have been launched on the 95306 platform, and the volume of container intermodal transportation has increased by 8.9% year-on-year; In the first three quarters, the intermodal transportation volume of railways and highways reached 348 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 54%.

Cross border train acceleration

The railway department strengthens the transportation organization of the China Europe Central Asia freight trains, continuously improves the utilization rate and operating ratio of scheduled trains, and realizes the passenger train operation of more foreign trade goods with fixed train numbers, routes, schedules, and times. The pilot application of international intermodal electronic waybills at Suifenhe Port has further improved the convenience level of cross-border transportation. In the first three quarters, the China Europe freight train operated 16000 trains, a year-on-year increase of 15%; 11000 Central Asian trains were operated, a year-on-year increase of 2%; The rail sea intermodal train of the new land and sea channel in the west has delivered more than 970000 TEUs, providing a strong transport guarantee for ensuring the stability and smoothness of the international supply chain, high-quality services and joint construction of the the Belt and Road, and China's high-level opening up.

The total amount has slightly increased, but the structure is changing. On the network of 165000 kilometers of railway network, 2582 logistics stations, and more than 7600 railway dedicated lines, bulk materials such as coal and grain are steadily supported, and containers and multimodal transport are quickly replenished. Railways are moving from traditional freight transportation to modern logistics, incorporating smooth flow of goods into the daily operation of the national economy.Editor/Yang Meiling