It was learned from Huaihua International Land Port that the first rail-water intermodal dedicated train from Huaihua International Land Port to Pinglu Canal officially departed on September 8, 2026. This marked a new breakthrough for Huaihua International Land Port in "river-rail-sea" multimodal transport operations.

The photo above shows gantry cranes expediting loading and unloading cargo for dispatch. (Photo/Zhang Zhuo, Huaihua Daily)

On the afternoon of September 7, the dedicated railway line of the Huaihua International Land Port Multimodal Transport Center was bustling with activity. Staff members were busy preparing for the train's departure; gantry cranes were working in an orderly and busy manner, loading 36 40-foot containers (72 TEUs) one after another.

A spokesperson of the Huaihua West Freight Yard of Changsha Railway Logistics Center introduced that all loaded containers were assembled and loaded before midnight on September 8, to ensure the dedicated train can depart punctually and safely.

The freight train dispatched this time is mainly carrying SANY construction machinery equipment and Huaihua local luggage products. This is of great significance for Hunan products going global and Huaihua products going out of the mountains.

Pinglu Canal began construction on August 28, 2022, with a total investment of about 72.7 billion yuan and a total length of 134.2 kilometers. It starts from Pingtang River Mouth in the Xijin Reservoir Area of Hengzhou City, Nanning in the north, passes through Luwu Town, Lingshan County, Qinzhou in the south, and follows the Qinjiang River directly to the Beibu Gulf. As China's highest-grade navigable canal, it is constructed to Class I inland waterway standards and can accommodate 5,000-tonne vessels. Three major cascade hubs—Madao, Qishi, and Qingnian—have been built along the entire route, with a total water level drop of 65 meters from start to finish, equivalent to the height of a building of more than 20 floors. Among them, the Madao Hub has set two world records: the water-saving ship lock with the largest water level drop and the largest inland water-saving ship lock in scale.

After opening to navigation, goods from the southwestern region shipped to sea via the canal will shorten the inland waterway distance by more than 560 kilometers compared with traditional routes. The voyage to major ASEAN ports will be significantly reduced, with comprehensive logistics costs lowered by 18% to 30%, saving more than five billion yuan for society in comprehensive logistics costs each year.

Huaihua International Land Port is the core hub for Hunan's connection to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the province's freight assembly center for ASEAN-bound cargo. It has regularly operated rail-sea intermodal trains from Huaihua to Qinzhou, maintaining efficient and stable freight capacity. The launch of this dedicated train service is another important measure by Huaihua International Land Port to deepen multimodal transport and expand logistics channels. Through rail-water intermodal transport and other methods, it provides inland areas with more efficient and convenient new logistics options for shipping goods to sea.

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

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: Huaihua Daily