Fully loaded with 40-foot clip-on reefer containers, the first Qiongguo (Hainan fruit) cross-sea cold-chain express train departed from Haikou Railway Station at 23:00 on August 18, bound for Changsha North Railway Station. This fixed-schedule freight train travels at 120 km/h off the island, and can reach Changsha and other destinations in central China in as little as 26.5 hours. It is the first of its kind operated by the Hainan Railway Co., Ltd.

The fruits in this shipment were sourced from major growing areas including Lingshui, Dongfang, and Danzhou of Hainan Province. They were sorted and packaged in the fields before being loaded into the reefer containers, and were then feeder-transported by road to assemble at Haikou Railway Station for transshipment. At the port, the train carriages were uncoupled and loaded onto the ferry separately. After ferrying across the Qiongzhou Strait, the train was recoupled and continued to run northward to Changsha North Railway Station.

Clip-on reefer containers were used for this maiden freight train trip. They can serve as cold-chain equipment during transit and also double as pre-shipment and post-shipment cold storage, enabling the integration of transport and storage. The temperature inside the containers can be adjusted from -30°C to 30°C, with each container operating independently. Temperature, humidity, and location data are transmitted in real time, enabling clients to track the cargo's journey via the WeChat mini-program for Special Cargo Customer Service.
 
The train operates on a differentiated schedule based on peak and off-peak seasons. During the off-season for fruit and vegetable supply between June and October each year, one train trip would be operated weekly on a fixed schedule. During the peak season from November to May of the following year, one train trip would be arranged every other day, which may be increased to even daily service in case of strong market demand. Each train can accommodate up to 32 reefer containers, with a maximum single-trip capacity of 900 tonnes — about 26 times that of a single road vehicle. With an annual transport capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes, the freight train service can ease pressure on road transport during peak seasons.
 
A spokesperson from China Railway Guangzhou Group stated that, going forward, a two-way logistics corridor connecting Southeast Asia, Hainan, and central China will be established. It is supported by the Qiongguo cross-sea cold-chain railway trunk line, with Changsha's regional large-scale agricultural wholesale and distribution center as the hub, and expanding to the regional markets in central China including Hubei, Jiangxi, Henan, and Anhui.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn