At 16:00 on March 20, a China-Europe Railway Express, consisting of 45 containers and loaded with daily necessities, electronic components, and other goods, departed from the Horgos Railway Port and headed to Elektrogli, Russia. As of that date, the number of China-Europe (Central Asia) Railway Express passing through the Horgos Railway Port this year exceeded 2,000, achieving this milestone 18 days ahead of schedule, marking an increase of 27.8% year-on-year.
On March 19, 2016, the first China-Europe Railway Express passed through the Horgos Railway Port. Over the past nine years, the China-Europe (Central Asia) Railway Express have consistently been on the move, operating day and night from various origins, with a cumulative total of 44,000 trains passing through the Horgos Railway Port. Currently, there are 87 operational routes including Zhengxinou, Yuxinou, and Chang'an, expanding the coverage area from the initial 2 countries and 3 cities to 46 cities across 18 countries such as Georgia, Germany, and Poland, with over 200 types of goods being transported. In 2024, the number of China-Europe Railway Express operating through the Horgos Port will reach 8,730, ranking first nationwide. The efficient and stable China-Europe Express has become a crucial bridge and green channel connecting the Eurasian continent.
Horgos Customs, part of Urumqi Customs, has implemented measures to support the development of China-Europe (Central Asia) Railway Express, promoted the consolidation of railway manifests, and achieved integrated customs clearance and paperless declarations. The customs has established a dedicated service window for China-Europe (Central Asia) Railway Express and enhanced collaboration with railways, border inspection, and other departments. This coordination ensures that each train stops only once, with customs and border inspection being completed concurrently in the same area, reducing inspection and release time by up to 30 minutes for each train. "We are advancing the 'Railway Fast Clearance' reform by integrating customs supervision into the railway operations workflow. In a single day, up to 33 trains can be supervised and released." This was introduced by officers from the third supervision section at Horgos Customs.
To further capitalize on the potential of port transportation, Horgos Railway Station is continuously refining the organization process for China-Europe Railway Express. They implement round-the-clock echelon rotation, ensuring that trains operate at full capacity. The station manages and allocates interval capacity, sensibly organizing shunting locomotive operations, train assembly/disassembly, and vehicle alignment for pick-up and delivery. This improves loading and unloading efficiency and reduces the dwell time of trains at the station. Meanwhile, they are advancing the preliminary stages of operations such as translation and ticket review, furthering the development of digital port infrastructure and piloting export quasi-exchange operations. This simplification of customs declaration processes has cut the average customs clearance waiting time by 40 minutes.
"Initially, when the China-Europe Railway Express traversed the Horgos Port, completing all inspection and clearance procedures took nearly 10 hours. Now, the release time for a full train is reduced to under 1 hour," said Ma Yanlong, department head at Horgos Jie'an International Freight Co., Ltd.
"There has been a marked increase in business volume this year," stated Shu Fei, business manager of Horgos Liangtu Logistics Co., Ltd. "So far, our company has managed over 500 China-Europe Railway Express, representing a nearly 30% growth compared to the same period last year."
A relevant official from Horgos Customs stated that the customs will align with the actual development of port openings and enhance collaboration with the railway department. They will persist in advancing the "railway port + local fast pass" business reform, thereby enhancing efforts to ensure seamless western channel operations, support open platform construction, and optimize the port's business environment. These measures aim to fully guarantee the stability and smooth functioning of both international industrial and supply chains.
(Zhao Qilong, Liu Xingyang)
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from China Inspection and Quarantine Times of this website. The China Inspection and Quarantine Times version shall prevail.