Yesterday, with a whistle, a Central Asian freight train fully loaded with refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, auto parts and other goods set off from Tianjin Container Center Station. It will exit the country through Horgos, Xinjiang, and transport various goods to several Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan respectively. The successful departure of this train marks the first time that the China-Central Asia train service, which starts from Tianjin and passes through the Khorgos Port to Central Asian countries, has been included in the planned route. In the future, this train will operate at a frequency of once a week on a regular basis, adding a stable and fast new channel for goods transportation to enhance the interconnection and intercommunication between our city and Central Asian countries.
At the beginning of this year, our city was successfully approved as the assembly center for China-Europe freight trains in the North China region. The Tianjin Container Center Station, where this China-Central Asia freight train departs, is the first comprehensive container railway hub in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region that combines rail and water transportation.
Li Zhiwu, director of the Operation and Development Department of Tianjin Container Center Station, introduced that this Central Asia freight train carried a total of 55 40-foot containers and arrived at several Central Asian cities including Almaty in Kazakhstan and Sergieli in Uzbekistan. The transportation cycle was about 10 days. To ensure the smooth operation of the train service, we have precisely allocated loading and unloading equipment and operation personnel based on the train dispatch plan, giving priority to loading and dispatching. We have also collaborated and coordinated with relevant departments and units such as customs and ports, applying the "Railway rapid customs clearance" model to continuously enhance customs clearance efficiency and shorten the entire transportation time of the train service. Li Zhiwu said.
Tao Lin, the head of the Multimodal Transport Business Section of the Third Comprehensive Business Division of Tianjin New Port Customs, also told reporters, "We have added the application authority for 'direct connection to the port yard' to the bulk cargo terminals of Tianjin Port that have container berths. The time for unloading goods from ships to transport them to the railway yard has been reduced from the original 2 to 3 days to within 3 hours." We have also established a customs clearance connection with the Horgos Customs, giving priority to handling the transfer declaration and write-off business of enterprises to ensure the rapid customs clearance of goods at the entry and exit points. In addition, we have taken a series of measures such as tailoring supervision and service plans for enterprises to continuously accelerate the flow of goods on the rail-water intermodal train and ensure the smooth and stable operation of the train."