Daily Times

China-Europe freight train services saw steady growth in the first half (H1) of this year, official data showed Thursday.

The number of China-Europe freight train services increased by 16 percent year on year to 8,641 trips during the January-June period, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. Some 936,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) of goods were transported via freight trains, up 30 percent.

As China’s foreign trade remained stable, the company said it increased train capacity, added new routes, offered customized services, and strengthened land port construction during the period to meet robust cross-border transport demand. Starting operations in 2011, China-Europe freight train services have offered a secure and reliable channel between Asia and Europe, transporting a variety of goods from IT products and automobiles to wines and coffee beans. As of the end of June, the train services had reached 216 cities in 25 European countries, with more than 6.9 million TEU of goods handled through 73,000 train trips.

Moreover, more key industrial sectors are being required to meet the standards set by the authorities for efficient energy use, said a circular on the website of China’s economic planner. The circular aims to update policies on energy efficiency benchmark levels in key industrial sectors. It was released by the National Development and Reform Commission and four other government departments. A total of 11 industrial sectors, such as ethylene glycol, urea, and titanium dioxide, will be added to the list of sectors which are required to comply with certain energy efficiency standards. Before the update, 25 sectors were on the list, including oil refining, coal to coke, and coal to methanol.