China News Service, Shanghai, March 9th: Exploring the “Logistics Code” at Shanghai’s Largest Railway Freight Yard
Author Pu Fan
On the afternoon of March 8, the cargo yard of Shanghai Railway Minhang Station was at the peak of loading and unloading operations.
In the cargo yard, a large gantry crane is lifting containers one by one and reciprocating. Under the gantry crane are dozens of flat cars connected end to end, leaving no gaps in the endless freight track.
On the same day, these fully loaded trains will be regrouped and sent to various parts of the country and even overseas.
On March 8, container gantry cranes were loading and unloading in the cargo yard of Shanghai Railway Minhang Station.
Photo by Pu Fan
Shanghai Railway Minhang Station is the freight station with the most complete freight products and the largest delivery volume in Shanghai. It covers an area of 798 acres. There are 16 cargo lines in the freight yard and 2 logistics warehouses. It mainly handles complete vehicles, containers, luggage, and luggage. Postage, special cargo (over-limit cargo, oversized cargo, cars) and the delivery of entire trains.
"There is no doubt that railway freight volume is increasing year by year." Wang Haiying, deputy secretary of the Party Branch of the Minhang Sales Department of the Shanghai Railway Logistics Center, said that taking the "Cargo Small Line 15" that sends mixed cargo at Minhang Station as an example, it has a capacity of about 30 cars. The lines are fully loaded almost every day, far exceeding the average daily delivery volume in previous years.
"The daily workload has increased this year, both in terms of the number of trains being delivered and the number of trains being grouped." Ye Yongsheng, driver of the downsizing workshop at the Shanghai Locomotive Depot, told China News Service reporters, "What impressed me most is that during the Spring Festival holidays in previous years, Freight volume will decrease significantly, but this year it has increased instead of falling."
There is a set of data that can confirm Ye Yongsheng's feelings.
In the first two months of 2024, China Railway Shanghai Bureau Group Co., Ltd. shipped 30.7 million tons of cargo, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%; container transportation was 5,463 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%; the number of China-Europe freight trains and sea-rail combined transport trains was also relatively high. In the same period last year, they increased by 21% and 23.3% respectively.
Wang Sheng, marketing manager of the Shanghai Railway Logistics Center, said that railway freight has developed rapidly in recent years. With the intensive opening of high-speed rail lines, the capacity of ordinary-speed railway freight has been released, and freight during the Spring Festival transportation period has been maximized.
On March 8, in the freight yard of Minhang Station, the shunting driver of the Shanghai Locomotive Depot was conducting marshalling operations.
Photo by Pu Fan
"Freight volume is one of the hard indicators for evaluating a country's economic situation." He Jianhua, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Yangtze River Delta Modernization Institute of Nantong University, told China News Service, "The increase in freight volume proves that the chain of economic development has been opened. In other words, the economy is becoming more active."
According to data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the total social logistics volume in the country in 2023 will be 352.4 trillion yuan (RMB, the same below), a year-on-year increase of 5.2% based on comparable prices.
Looking at gross domestic product (GDP), data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that China's GDP will exceed 126 trillion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%.
The growth of the two data confirms each other.
In addition to the increase in freight volume, the structure of freight products is also changing.
Wang Haiying said that when Minhang Station opened in 2009, containers only accounted for about 30% of the total cargo sent, but now the proportion of containers has reached 60-70%.
The rapid development of container transportation is not only due to the significant increase in freight volume, but also proves that the railway freight system is in a transformation stage.
Wang Sheng said that as China-Europe freight trains, road-rail combined transport, sea-rail combined transport and other trains have become more mature and intensive in recent years, the advantages of containers in facilitating transshipment between various modes of transportation have been brought into play.
"The 'transportation' function of railways has become a 'logistics' function, providing full-chain services."
On January 29, the Harbin Railway Logistics Center was established. So far, all 39 railway logistics centers planned by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. across the country have been established.
Shanghai Railway Logistics Center is also one of them. It was established in December 2023 and was formerly known as Shanghai Freight Center.
He Jianhua said that China is the world's largest trader of goods and the largest manufacturing country. If it wants to be at the center of the economy, a developed logistics system is the basic guarantee.
This year’s government work report mentioned the need to “implement actions to reduce logistics costs.”
How to reduce costs and improve quality of logistics system?
He Jianhua said: "At present, China's transportation 'subsystems' such as highways, waterways, railways, and aviation have been well constructed. How to connect and support the various systems to optimize logistics efficiency and economic benefits is an urgent need to overcome in the next stage. problem." (End)