Lianyungang’s International Freight Trains Surpass 17,500 Trips

From: Lianyungang Daily Updated: 2026-01-29 05:07

Recently, an international freight train loaded with daily necessities and auto parts departed from the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base, whistling on its way. After exiting through the Khorgos Port, the goods will be distributed to Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. As the eastern starting point of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge, the Port of Lianyungang has operated over 17,500 international freight train trips since its first trip in December 1992, with a total freight volume of 1.435 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), becoming a crucial pillar for connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base is the first physical project to be implemented under the BRI. It serves not only as an international economic platform for transit transportation, warehousing, logistics, and trade for the five Central Asian countries but also drives regional economic development through green innovation. The continuous expansion and efficiency enhancement of Lianyungang’s international freight trains are underpinned by the continuous innovation and upgrading of logistics models and service systems. Leveraging its unique advantage of land-sea intermodal transportation, the base pioneered the “zero-waiting” model of “direct transfer from ship to train”, reducing the transit time for international containers from over four days to less than one day and improving customs clearance efficiency at the port by 40%. Meanwhile, it took the lead nationwide in implementing innovative measures such as mixed loading of “bonded + export” containers and “one-container-through” international sea-rail intermodal transportation, establishing an all-weather, high-capacity, green, low-carbon, smooth, and secure cross-border logistics service system. This provides a solid guarantee for the stability of global industrial and supply chains and has won wide recognition from countries along the route.

“In 2025, innovation in cross-border logistics and corridor construction in Lianyungang will accelerate further,” said Ge, Deputy Chief Economist of the Port Holding Group and General Manager of Lianyungang China-Kazakhstan International Logistics Co., Ltd. The China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base has successfully applied the “one-container-through” model to the transit transportation of Kazakh wheat, improving transit efficiency by 70%. A single train now takes only one hour to complete the transition from rail to sea transportation, with the overall transportation time shortened from about 30 days to around 20 days. Through the New Eurasian Land-Sea Intermodal Transportation Data Corridor Platform, the journey of the freight trains is visualized across 16 countries in Eurasia, enabling traceability and efficient control throughout the cross-border logistics process.

Meanwhile, the pilot zone of the Aktau Port Container Hub Project, the first large-scale logistics project invested in by China along the Caspian Sea coast, has been officially launched. This project, together with the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics Cooperation Base and the “Khorgos—Eastern Gate” Dry Port, forms an “integrated three-hub” operational pattern, further enhancing the function of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor as a fulcrum. It will deepen economic and trade cooperation among countries along the New Eurasian Continental Bridge and significantly improve the efficiency and resilience of international logistics.

Leveraging its geographical advantage as the convergence point of the Belt and Road, Lianyungang’s international freight trains will continue to consolidate the role of the New Eurasian Land-Sea Intermodal Transportation Corridor, steadily increase the volume of east-west transit goods, and promote a steady increase in the scale of train operations and continuous optimization of operational quality and efficiency. The “steel camel caravans” shuttle across the Eurasian continent will continue to weave a denser network of connectivity, injecting stronger Lianyungang momentum into the high-quality co-construction of the BRI and the creation of an open gateway featuring coordinated development between inland and maritime areas and between the east and the west.