(CFP Photo)

Since the first China-Europe freight train departed from Xuzhou City in 2015, the service has maintained a rapid growth, with the number of trips reaching 600 in 2020 and 1,000 last year.

Xuzhou has again made a new milestone in the first half of the year as the number of freight train trips jumped by 91.7% year on year to 230 and transported $277 million worth of goods.

Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group Co., Ltd. (XCMG), a leading Chinese machinery manufacturer, used a chartered train in May to deliver goods in 50 containers to Uzbekistan in just 8 days.

With the data sharing service among the Customs, railway authorities and operators, the rapid Customs clearance scheme effectively improves efficiency, shortens Customs clearance time, and cuts costs for exporters.

Through this fast-track service, 29 enterprises have transported goods worth about $6 million through the China-Europe freight trains.

Freight trains have played an important role in boosting fragile supply chains in fight against COVID-19 with the advantage of relatively stable schedule. XCMG used the freight trains to ship freights worth $52 million in the first half of the year.

The city's China-Europe freight train service has reached more than 50 cities in 19 countries via the country's five border ports. The trains also helped import soybeans, oats and other grain products in nearly 800 containers, which weighed more than 10,000 tons in total.