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the number of cargo transported by the western land-sea corridor's rail-sea combined transport trains has increased to 1,157.

new business opportunities brought by new trains (big data observation)

core reading

in august 2019, the national development and reform commission issued the "overall plan for the new western land-sea corridor". over the past five years, the corridor's destinations have expanded from 166 ports around the world to 523 ports. this vibrant international economic corridor has released new momentum for the opening up and development of the western region and created new opportunities for win-win cooperation in jointly building the "belt and road". starting this year, the cross-border railway cold chain channel between chongqing and asean has achieved "two-way opening and normal operation". the reporter approached a cold chain train loaded with bananas to feel the enthusiasm for development.

on the morning of july 8, a china-laos-thailand cold chain train arrived at the xiaonanya railway logistics center in luohuang port industrial city, jiangjin district, chongqing, and the crane unloaded the container in time.

the container was filled with bananas and was loaded onto a truck from vientiane south station in laos in the early morning of july 2. it arrived at chongqing xiaonanya via the china-laos railway on the evening of july 7. after that, the bananas will be distributed to various districts and counties in chongqing, as well as surrounding provinces such as sichuan and hunan.

the arrival of fruits "fresh" is attributed to the operation of cold chain trains. starting this year, the cross-border railway cold chain channel between chongqing and asean has achieved "two-way operation and normal operation". the cold chain trains use special refrigerated containers, and the temperature inside the containers is maintained at around 15 degrees celsius. high-quality fruits from asean countries such as durian and mangosteen can be delivered to chongqing fresh, and chongqing specialties can also be exported more conveniently.

cold chain technology facilitates the transportation of fresh produce and broadens the categories of goods transported, reflecting the new development and changes of the western land-sea corridor. as of the end of june, the number of goods transported by the western land-sea corridor's rail-sea combined transport trains has increased to 1,157, covering 153 stations in 72 cities in 18 provinces in my country and 523 ports in 124 countries and regions around the world.

open up--

attracting continuous development of supply

the cold chain trains were created from scratch thanks to the continuous efforts of logistics practitioners.

"first of all, we have to get this train running, increase its visibility, let asean countries know about this cross-border cold chain train, and attract sources of cargo so that we can achieve sustainable development," said li zhaobang, chairman of chongqing xinluhai supply chain co., ltd.

what does the cold chain train transport? it is necessary to find a commodity with low risk and stable supply to ensure the long-term operation of the train. "the banana industry in southeast asian countries such as laos is developing very well, and my country also has a large demand for bananas." li zhaobang said, "banana is not high in value, has low transportation risks, and grows all year round, so it is very suitable as a base commodity."

after determining the banana category, the company formed a special team and found several large-scale banana plantations in laos. after several online communications, it organized personnel to go to laos for an on-site inspection.

"after landing in laos, the fruit farmers there were very willing to join the cold chain train project." li zhaobang said, "one boss was willing to not pay a deposit in order to join the train project. we remitted the money to her after the bananas arrived in chongqing."

why are cold chain trains so popular? they have multiple advantages.

first, cross-border rail transport only takes 4 days from vientiane, laos to chongqing. in contrast, the previously commonly used road transport requires multiple loading and unloading; the equally fast air transport is too expensive. "fruits have very high requirements for freshness. for example, after durian is picked, it must enter the market within 6 days. with the guarantee of cold chain trains, subsequent distribution arrangements can also be more flexible." li zhaobang introduced.

secondly, the specially designed refrigerated containers can maintain the appropriate temperature to ensure the quality of the fruit. the customs clearance green channel also provides protection for cross-border trains.

the cold chain trains also provide new options for domestic fruit importers. in the past, importers had to find sources of goods, declare customs, and communicate with transportation channels. "now that there are cross-border cold chain trains, our company plans to provide professional fruit import intermediary services, explore sources of goods, and ensure transportation capacity, so that domestic merchants can 'wait for unloading'," said li zhaobang.

carrying everyone's expectations, in the early morning of july 2, a cold chain train loaded with bananas departed from vientiane south station in laos.

run--

careful scheduling to ensure operation

cold chain trains are running on the tracks.

from vientiane, laos to xiaonanya, chongqing, the train goes directly across the border, greatly improving transportation efficiency. however, because it involves two sections of domestic and foreign journeys, even if it is the same train, it is necessary to change the train number and arrange the transportation route separately. how to carefully dispatch and ensure the operation of the train?

"from vientiane, laos to mohan, yunnan, cold chain trains can take the china-laos railway. from mohan to chongqing xiaonanya, the domestic section, we will guide logistics companies to log on to the china railway freight official website and choose the most suitable domestic transportation route." zhou xiaojuan, a freight operator in the xiaonanya business office, said, "after arriving at xiaonanya, we will notify the logistics company as soon as possible and send special personnel to monitor the loading and unloading process in real time to provide comprehensive, full-process and all-round services."

in addition to route setting, each railway station also needs to prepare for the reception of trains when they arrive.

with four hours left before the cold chain train arrives, tao yong, the dispatcher at xiaonanya station, has already begun paying attention to its movements.

on the workbench, two phones kept ringing, the digital screen showed dense shunting routes, and the signal lights kept flashing. tao yong stared at the control console intently, while checking the shunting progress through the intercom, and called the freight room to communicate the on-site preparations for cargo alignment.

fresh food transportation requires every second to count. under scientific scheduling, the station is well prepared to receive the train early. "after the train arrives, we carefully check the train departure station, consignee and other information, and are responsible for unloading and positioning; the freight room immediately organizes unloading and distribution of goods. the efficiency is improved through each link." tao yong said.

with efficient transportation organization, this cold chain train arrived at xiaonanya railway logistics center on time.

return trip——

front-line services to boost exports

after unloading the bananas, the refrigerated container will not be empty. on the other side, leishu fruit co., ltd. in tongnan district, chongqing is waiting to load its own lemons onto the truck, which will also be exported to thailand via the western land-sea corridor.

tongnan district is located near the 30th parallel north, with slightly acidic soil and convenient irrigation conditions, which are suitable for lemon growth. as a common condiment in catering, lemons are widely sold in asean countries. with the cold chain train to solve the problem of freshness preservation, chongqing lemons have an opportunity to go global.

leishu fruit co., ltd.'s lemons were able to go abroad with the help of the customs department. tan xisheng, the chief of the audit section of yongchuan customs under chongqing customs, suggested that they try exporting during a visit to the "policy delivery" activity. "the price of a pound of lemons abroad is much higher than in china. it must be cost-effective to do foreign trade."

"we are of course happy to be able to enter a larger market," said hu zaiyang, the company's head. "but we are all farmers. the export procedures are too complicated. what should we do if we can't handle it?"

"don't panic, we are here for you," said tan xisheng. "customs has a long-term mechanism to serve enterprises and can provide full assistance to enterprises during the export process."

"go out and export our lemons abroad!" soon after hu zaiyang expressed his willingness to export, customs staff came to the company, collected and sorted out export quarantine requirements, planned the declaration process, and helped the company complete the registration of outbound fruit orchards and packaging factories and external promotion.

afterwards, through the customs clearance green channel, 7×24 hours appointment customs clearance and other services, a batch of 28 tons of fresh lemons from leishu fruit co., ltd. were loaded onto a cold chain train and sold to thailand.

at present, through the western land-sea new corridor, tongnan lemons, zhongxian oranges and liangping pre-prepared dishes and other specialty products have been exported. in the first half of this year, chongqing's cargo volume through the western land-sea new corridor reached 120,000 teus, a year-on-year increase of 54%, and the cargo value was 23.185 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 89%. (people's daily reporter li zenghui wang xinyue)