In the first quarter of 2025, China’s rail freight operations grew substantially, particularly in cross-border logistics. The number of China-Central Asia freight trains rose 25.5% year-on-year to 3,582 while cross-border cargo traffic on the China-Laos Railway surged 10% year-on-year to 1.513 million tons, which significantly promoted international and economic trade exchanges, China Railway said.
In addition to the growing freight operations, passenger services on the China-Laos Railway have also expanded. On Sunday, the international passenger train route between Xishuangbanna in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province and Luang Prabang in Laos was extended to Puer Station in Yunnan, with an additional stop at Nateuy, Laos, bringing the total number of stops to eight, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Launched on April 13, 2024, the passenger service enables same-day round trips between Xishuangbanna and Luang Prabang. Over the past year, it has transported 220,000 passengers, including 81,000 cross-border travelers, according to Xinhua.
This mixed-use railway, which connects China to Laos, not only facilitates the transport of goods, including perishables and industrial products, but also enhances regional connectivity, with significant potential to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe, Sun Zhang, a railway expert at Shanghai Tongji University, told the Global Times on Sunday.
The China-Europe Railway Express, as part of this network, connects China to Europe via Central Asia, further expanding trade and reinforcing China’s strategic position in global trade, particularly as Southeast Asia becomes a key economic partner for both domestic and international markets, Sun added, noting that the railway has proven to be a successful model, boosting both tourism and trade.
In another move, Wuhan in Central China’s Hubei Province on Saturday launched its first regularly scheduled freight train, X9011, bound for Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. This marks the beginning of regular services along the Central Asia rail route from Wuhan. The inaugural train, carrying 1,640 tons of industrial goods, including steel coils, tiles, and air conditioning units, is expected to arrive at its destination in 10 days, according to a report on the government’s website.
Products manufactured in Hubei, including complete vehicles and vehicle parts, optoelectronic devices, and agricultural products, are highly popular in Central Asian markets, Zhang Peng, a deputy general manager of an international intermodal transportation company under the Hubei Railway Group, was quoted as saying in the report.
The Horgos railway port in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region reported strong growth in the first quarter, with 2,375 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains passing through, up 28.5% year-on-year. The cargo volume reached 3.336 million tons, a 26% rise, setting a new record for the period, China Media Group reported.
As of the end of March, the port had handled more than 44,500 freight trains, with 87 routes serving 18 countries and 46 cities and regions, per the CMG report. Domestically, China’s railway network also exhibited a robust performance, with 970 million tons of cargo transported in the first quarter, a 3.1% year-on-year rise. The sustained growth has been pivotal in facilitating both domestic and international trade, ensuring the smooth circulation of goods as part of China’s dual-circulation strategy, China Railway said.
