Test freight train debuts Guizhou to Guangdong run

Guizhou's test freight train debuts on Jan 11. [Photo/colorful Guizhou network]

A freight train carrying 2,000 metric tons of monocalcium phosphate on Jan 11 departed from Niuchang Railway Station – in Niuchang town of Fuquan city in Southwest China's Guizhou province – on a test run.

The test freight train will arrive at Zhanjiang port in South China's Guangdong province on Jan 13.

After arriving there, the goods will be sent to Laem Chabang port in Thailand by ship.

Guizhou Chanhen Chemical Corporation, the exporter of the monocalcium phosphate, mainly sends its products to Southeast Asia. The debut of the Guizhou-Guangdong freight train is projected to save the company about 2 million yuan ($314,356) in logistics cost per year.

The new freight service travels along Guizhou's Wen'an-Machangping Railway, which started operating in April last year and is 73 kilometers long. To date, the line has transported more than 1.9 million tons of goods and saved more than 10 million yuan in logistics costs for companies.

The south and north extension line of the railway is currently under construction and will pass through Guizhou's Qiannan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture and Zunyi city.

The extension line will connect with Guizhou-Guangxi Railway's Lyuyinhu Railway Station in the south and Sichuan-Guizhou Railway's Gelaoba Railway Station in the north.

After the start of operations in 2025, the extension line is expected to reduce the transportation time from railway stations in West China to seaports in South China from three days to 24 hours.

On Jan 1, Guangdong also sent its first multimodal freight train from Zhanjiang port to the Guiyang Dulaying International Logistics Port. Both trains mark Guizhou and Guangdong's continued efforts to co-build the New International Land-Sea Corridor and expand the logistics channel between the two provinces.