Part Three of Our Series on Cost Reduction, Quality Improvement, and Efficiency Gains: Leveraging Multimodal Transport

“ At present, the logistics industry continues to face numerous challenges, including a large number of operational links, cumbersome procedures, opaque freight rates, lengthy intermodal transit times, difficulties in tracking shipments, and inadequate resource support. ”

“ Fully support the total social logistics costs and GDP The ratio is strived to be reduced to 13.5% Left and right. "12" month 3 On [date], at a special press conference held by the Ministry of Transport, spokesperson Liu Pengfei stated that, in the next phase, the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network’s main framework will be further refined. New breakthroughs are expected in areas such as the reform of the integrated transport system, the market‑oriented reform of railway freight, the adjustment of the transport structure, and the development of multimodal transport, thereby enhancing the role of transport and logistics in supporting the building of a modern industrial system.

At present, China’s comprehensive transportation system has made significant progress, but structural imbalances still require further improvement.

New equipment New route offers innovative ways to cut costs.

Early morning 0 Time 48 minutes, a dedicated train from Handan Iron and Steel carries 30 Coil‑car steel is being shipped from Dongxu Station to Handan Station. This marks a new end-to-end rail logistics service—“Circular Block Train”—custom‑designed by the Shijiazhuang Railway Logistics Center of China Railway Beijing Group for Handan Iron & Steel. Adhering to a “one‑enterprise‑one‑policy” approach, the service boasts the “five‑fixed” advantages of scheduled timing, fixed routes, designated stations, set pricing, and predetermined train formations, with one train departing daily.

(Image source: Xu Menglai)   Photography )

This year 4 Month, Handan Steel 2 After the No. X blast furnace is put into operation, it is expected to produce annually… 30 Ten thousand tons of hot-rolled steel coils are shipped from Handan Steel’s new plant in She County, Handan, to its old plant in downtown Handan for further processing before being released onto the market.

Wang Wei, manager of the Yangyi Branch of the center, stated that, “The launch of the circular block train has significantly improved logistics efficiency, reducing the time from arrival at the factory and positioning to completion of loading and departure from the yard, from…” 9 The hour gradually shortens to 5 Hours, efficiency improved 44% ! Ensuring that cargo, like passengers on high-speed rail, departs on time and arrives punctually.

  Hebei Province is a major industrial and logistics hub in northern China, endowed with abundant mineral and industrial resources and a well-developed industrial base. Its pillar industries include raw-material processing sectors such as steel, chemicals, and building materials, while the province handles massive volumes of freight—particularly iron ore, crude oil, and coal. To enhance and establish a modern multimodal transport system centered on railways, Hebei is constructing trunk railway lines that link production and consumption centers, integrating these networks with dedicated railway sidings serving large industrial and mining enterprises, logistics parks, and ports, thereby pioneering an innovative “port‑… + The “inland port” multimodal transport system leverages financial support to foster the development of an efficient point-to-point transportation network, thereby enhancing transport efficiency and reducing costs.

As one of the founding entities of Hebei Province’s Joint Conference on Advancing Transport Structure Adjustment, China Railway Beijing Group has proactively aligned with local needs, offering end-to-end logistics solutions, launching services such as port‑city block trains and circular block trains, and actively deploying new freight‑car equipment to boost the efficiency and speed of rail freight operations.

This year 8 In [month], the Beijing Railway Bureau for the first time deployed rack‑type coil‑steel containers. Wei Hua, manager of the Marketing Department at the Shijiazhuang Railway Logistics Center of China Railway Beijing Bureau, explained: “Once a vehicle delivers coiled steel to the freight yard using these containers, the entire container can be lifted directly onto the train, requiring only a single loading and securing operation throughout the entire transport process.” This innovative equipment eliminates the issues associated with traditional rail‑transport methods—such as repeated transloading and multiple rounds of loading and securing—thereby boosting transport efficiency, reducing safety risks, and helping customers cut costs on loading‑and‑securing materials.

Wang Lidong, Section Chief of the Transportation Division at the Logistics Department of Hebei Jingye Group Co., Ltd., stated: “Using coil‑car containers to transport coiled steel is much faster than the traditional rail‑transport model; a dedicated coil‑car container train ( 50 The vehicle can save, during the loading and unloading process, compared to the past, 30 “It used to take several hours, but now with coil steel shipments, all it takes is a phone call: door-to-door pickup, dispatch, and final delivery—everything is handled by the railway department. It’s truly fast and hassle-free.”

Greenification New Measures for Low-Carbon Development to Protect Blue Skies

Thousands of tons of cargo would require nearly a hundred trucks to load, whereas a single freight train can transport it with ease, driving… “Shifting freight from road to rail” not only enhances logistics and transportation efficiency but also addresses the environmental challenges posed by exhaust emissions from road transport.

In recent years, significant progress in the green and low-carbon transition has emerged as a prominent highlight in China’s transport sector; however, when it comes to optimizing the transport structure, both technological innovation in low-carbon transportation and the capacity for low-carbon governance remain in need of further strengthening.

Liaoning Province has set the overarching goal of reducing emissions, lowering carbon intensity, and enhancing efficiency in the transportation sector. By focusing on restructuring the transport modes of large industrial and mining enterprises, it is steadfastly advancing a clean, low-carbon transformation in the transportation field. The province is also continuously implementing four key initiatives—improving multimodal transport, boosting railway capacity, upgrading the waterway system, and addressing over‑dimensional and overloaded freight vehicles—to foster seamless integration among various transport modes and enhance overall transport efficiency.

(Image source: Xu Menglai)   Photography )

Wang Xiuchun, an official from the Transportation Services Department of the Ministry of Transport, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office: “The Ministry of Transport is vigorously implementing the Jiao Yong initiative to reduce logistics costs, enhance quality, and boost efficiency. This begins with optimizing the transport structure, rolling out the Railway Freight Network Project, and accelerating the extension of dedicated railway lines into port areas, industrial parks, and factory premises. It also involves strongly promoting the shift of bulk cargo from loose‑to‑containerized handling, encouraging key ports to increase the share of bulk commodities delivered to terminals by rail, and steadily raising the proportion of freight carried by rail.”

According to reports, Liaoning Province has strengthened policy support and financial guarantees, promoted the extension of railway dedicated lines into enterprises and industrial parks, and pioneered innovative models for the shared use of such lines. Following the completion of the Dalian Automobile Terminal’s dedicated line, the annual rail‑based handling volume of finished vehicles has increased from… 40 Increased to ten thousand vehicles 80 ten thousand vehicles; after the completion of the HuaChen BMW railway dedicated line, the loading time for finished vehicles has been reduced from… 6 Hours shortened to 2 Hourly, the daily sending volume is by 116 increased to 174 vehicles, significantly boosting sea‑rail intermodal transport volumes. In particular, the “Dalian–Yingkou Iron Ore Combined Port” business model—an innovative approach—has helped alleviate operational pressures at Yingkou Port’s large‑scale ore terminals. 2023 The average waiting time for ore vessels at Yingkou Port compared to… 2021 Decreased year-on-year 88.5% , while also helping steel mills reduce procurement and shipping costs.

Rail freight energy consumption is that of road freight. 1/7 , the environmental pollution caused by diesel locomotives is that of road freight transport. 1/13 Meanwhile, electrified railways are even closer to zero pollution. By optimizing and adjusting the transport mix and steadily promoting the shift of medium- and long-distance freight from road to rail and from road to water, we can significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions during transportation, enhance freight‑transport efficiency, align with the requirements of a high‑quality development strategy, leverage the railway’s role as a major economic artery, and contribute to winning the battle for blue skies.

As of 2023 At the end of the year, Liaoning Province 34 The home-to-transport volume is greater than 150 The total freight volume of bulk commodities for large industrial and mining enterprises reaches 3 hundred million tons, with green transport volumes achieved via rail, waterways, pipelines (belt corridors), and new-energy vehicles. 2.7 hundred million tons, with green transportation accounting for 87.9% , among which, the share of railway freight volume is 69.9% , compared to 2020 Increased by the year 42.9 percentage points, and the achievements in adjusting the transport structure continue to be consolidated.

Information Port The cloud platform ensures smooth operations through coordinated efforts among the four ports.

To promote the reduction of logistics costs and enhance economic efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta region, 12 month 5 On [date], the three provinces and one municipality of the Yangtze River Delta jointly issued the “Action Plan for Enhancing Logistics Quality, Improving Efficiency, and Reducing Costs in the Yangtze River Delta Region,” explicitly stating that a multimodal, coordinated approach to regional logistics and transportation will be implemented to promote the optimization and adjustment of the transport structure.

Zhang Zhongwei, Executive Deputy Director of the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office and Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, stated that the issuance of this Plan will pool efforts to address common challenges. To unblock bottlenecks in infrastructure networks and enhance the efficiency of multimodal transport connectivity, Zhejiang Province—located in the Yangtze River Delta—is working to promote the development of multimodal transport, optimize and adjust the transport structure, reduce overall logistics costs, and advance the integration of seaports, land ports, airports, and information hubs. In line with the strategic plan to accelerate integrated connectivity across maritime, land, air, and digital domains through “four‑port” collaboration, efforts are focused on a systematic framework of “seven linkages”: infrastructure interconnectivity, hub integration, standard harmonization, information networking, enterprise alliances, coordinated operations, and multimodal transport. This has essentially established a multimodal transport service system centered on sea–rail intermodal transport, distinguished by river–sea–river intermodal transport, and underpinned by air–land and road–rail intermodal solutions.

Recently, at Jinhua South Station in Zhejiang Province, a sea-rail intermodal train loaded with over a hundred standard containers of goods departed to the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in Zhejiang, traveling along the Yongjin Railway. According to reports, this shipment originating from Yiwu, Zhejiang, will subsequently be exported to Europe by sea.

Thanks to The implementation of the “Public Transport to Rail” project, 2023 Compared with traditional road transportation, the Yiwu-bound freight train saves approximately… 203.9 Logistics costs of ten thousand yuan.

The province has innovatively established The “Sixth Port Area” digital service platform integrates port operations, customs clearance, and shipping services between Yiwu Port and Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, improving the efficiency of sea-rail intermodal operations by approximately… 20% . The online application for “road-to-water” transport of bulk cargo has cumulatively handled a total volume of freight shifted from road to water. 364 Ten thousand tons, achieving carbon emission reductions. 2.9 Ten thousand tons, with overall logistics costs reduced. 15%。

At present, the logistics industry continues to face numerous challenges, including a large number of operational links, cumbersome procedures, opaque freight rates, lengthy intermodal transit times, difficulties in tracking shipments, and insufficient resource support. Zhejiang Province, leveraging… The “Four Ports” big data platform has been built into the “Four Ports” cloud platform, integrating information on cargo, containers, trucks, vessels, air freight, railways, barges, warehouses, customs, and ports. 10 In the big data domain, a vast array of logistics data is aggregated. 1.7 Ten thousand items, connecting various types of logistics data exceeding 1000 Ten thousand routes, achieving information coverage of over… for the major container ports along China’s coastline. 65% , supporting monthly monitoring of full-truckload and less-than-truckload road freight rates from Zhejiang Province to the national level, as well as real-time tracking of trucks within the province. GPS Positioning, ETC Information inquiry: Full‑process tracking of container logistics for sea‑rail intermodal transport at the Ningbo–Zhoushan Port is available, with nationwide coverage of customs clearance node information reaching… 60% , connecting with the world 81 The major airlines.

2023 In [year], Zhejiang Province completed the integrated waterway transport system linking rivers, seas, and inland waterways. 4.43 100 million tons, an increase year on year 6.1% ; Container intermodal transport by sea-rail, river-sea, and sea-river routes was completed, respectively. 165.2、85、182.6 Ten million TEUs, up year-on-year respectively. 13.8% 、 21.3% 、 27.5% The proportion of green freight transport for bulk commodities at the province’s major ports has reached 91.8% , up year-on-year 13 percentage points.