The number of China-Europe freight trains has continued to surge, surpassing 12,000 in 2020, an increase of over 50%, and this against the backdrop of the pandemic, reports ECNS.
As global freight transportation fell amid the pandemic, China-Europe freight trains transported over one million containers in 2020, including nearly ten million items of medical equipment, reported Zhao Chenxin, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission on Tuesday.
Over the second half of the year, the number of trains dispatched remained steady at around 1,200 per month. And operating efficiency has steadily improved, with the number of heavily loaded containers reaching 98.4% up by 4.6% over the previous year. Freight value has reached $50 billion as the demand of important intermediate goods in the international industrial chain have grown rapidly, aside from the traditional categories such as electronic products, food, wood, and chemicals.
More routes have come online in 2020. China-Europe freight trains now reach 92 cities in 21 countries and regions, an increase of 67% over the previous year. A further 73 special dedicated operation lines for China-Europe trains are in the works.
