Fuzhou, May 16 (Xinhua) — On May 16, a “one box system” sea rail intermodal special train loaded with 78 standard containers and 2145 tons of imported copper concentrate from Africa departed from Haicang Station in Xiamen and went directly to Jiaoyang Station in Longyan. This is the first “one box system” sea rail intermodal special train operated by “Silk Road Shipping” since its establishment, which means that all goods in the train are loaded from overseas and transported to domestic railways without changing boxes or opening boxes, achieving a “double improvement” in the efficiency and cost control level of sea rail intermodal transportation.
“Silk Road Maritime Transport” is an international integrated logistics service brand and platform of “the Belt and Road” with the theme of shipping, and its named routes reach 145 ports in 46 countries and regions. It is reported that the “one box system” sea rail intermodal special train launched this time adopts the Chinese railway loading and reinforcement standard for all goods to be packed. After arrival at the port, only electronic locks are inspected, and there is no need to open the box for inspection. After the goods arrive at the destination, the customs department will open the box for sampling, and the whole process will be “one box to the end”, compressing the waiting time and container replacement time of goods by about one week, while reducing the rate of cargo damage. Enterprises only need to declare to the railway department once to load and ship the goods, without submitting materials such as cargo status certificates and loading and unloading records at multiple stages.
The “one box system” sea rail intermodal special train launched this time has saved about 500 yuan in single box logistics costs, shortened transportation cycles by about 60%, and reduced cargo damage rates by about 80%. In the past, it took about 15 days for African copper concentrates to be transported from shore, through customs, to the factory. However, through the ‘one box system’, direct delivery could be achieved in 6 days, reducing overall logistics costs by 10%. This alone can save millions of yuan throughout the year, “said Chi Hongde, Deputy General Manager of Shanghang Zijin Railway Special Line Co., Ltd.
According to data from the Fujian Port and Shipping Development Center, from January to April this year, 69715 TEUs of containers were transported in and out of ports in Fujian Province through sea rail intermodal transportation, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%. The demand for sea rail intermodal transportation is strong, and the ‘one box system’ sea rail intermodal special train has emerged. This is not only an innovative achievement of deepening port cooperation among railways, ports, and customs, but also provides an example for enterprises to reduce logistics costs and increase efficiency, “said Ye Deshan, manager of the Xiamen branch of Fuzhou Railway Logistics Center.