At 11:00 on March 29, 2021, a cargo train carrying 2709 tons of cotton departed from Bachu Station of Nanjiang Railway to Jiangyin Station and Haian Station in Jiangsu Province. 

According to statistics from the China Railway Urumqi Bureau Group Co., Ltd., the Freight Transport Department, from January 1 to March 28 this year, a total of 1.26 million tons of cotton was transported out of China, a year-on-year increase of 7%. 

As the world’s largest cotton consumer and the second largest cotton producer, China’s cotton output in 2020/2021 is about 5.95 million tons, of which Xinjiang’s cotton output is 5.2 million tons, accounting for about 87% of China’s domestic output and about 20% of the world’s cotton output. %the above.

Xinjiang is China's largest cotton production base, with unique natural conditions, abundant sunshine, large temperature difference between day and night, sparse rainfall, dry climate, and the cotton fiber has good flexibility. Xinjiang long-staple cotton has excellent quality and large output. 

In order to meet the production needs of anti-epidemic products, the railway department has strengthened the organization of cotton transportation and opened special cotton trains to ensure sufficient cotton supply. In 2020, Xinjiang Railway transported 3.907 million tons of cotton to various places, many of which were made into medical protective clothing, cotton balls, cotton swabs and other epidemic prevention materials, which contributed to the effective containment of the epidemic.

The cotton must be air-dried before packing. The packed cotton weighs about 220 kilograms, and it is neatly stacked in different areas after being transported to the cargo yard. It is strictly forbidden to enter the cargo yard with external fire, strictly implement various fire protection systems and measures, and keep regular inspections by duty personnel.

When loading and transporting the special train, the staff first spread the bottom of the carriage with colored strips, and then the cotton bales are transported into the carriage by a special bagging machine. One carriage can load about 43 tons of cotton bales, and then seal the door with foam glue after loading. This operation is to seal fire and ensure transportation safety. 

Since 2021, as the productivity of enterprises has increased, the market's demand for cotton has risen, and Xinjiang's high-quality cotton has become the first choice for many enterprises to purchase. Urumqi Bureau Group Corporation has signed strategic cooperation agreements with a number of major Chinese customers. The agreed cotton transport volume is 2.3 million tons, stabilizing the supply of railway transportation. The freight centers of Kashgar, Korla, and Kuitun dynamically grasp the upstream and downstream supply demands, optimize the freight handling process, rationally arrange the cargo space, allocate vehicles in a timely manner, and assist customers in solving the problems of formalities and short-distance transportation. At present, the Urumqi Bureau Group Company has 22 cotton dedicated lines and 16 cotton loading departure stations. Each station and the freight center actively cooperate to put cotton loading into the focus of daily production work, and work overtime to organize transportation. 

The Chinese railway department scientifically allocates transportation resources, unblocks transportation channels, carefully compiles loading plans, and adopts measures such as priority acceptance, priority transportation, priority air allocation, priority loading, and priority transportation, so as to collect enough trains, open one train, and build cotton. The green channel for foreign transportation will fully meet the needs of cotton transportation. (For reprinting, please indicate see www.seetao.com) Seetao.com video column editor/Zhu Heyun