BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The number of outbound and inbound China-Europe freight trains crossing the ports of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China hit 1,482 in the first quarter of the year, showing an increase of 7.39 percent year-on-year, according to Urumqi Customs.
In the first quarter, about 1.02 million tons of goods entered and exited via the ports in Xinjiang by the China-Europe freight trains, representing a year-on-year increase of 45.09 percent.
Among the ports in Xinjiang, Alashankou is still the port seeing the most inbound and outbound trips made by the China-Europe freight trains.
In the first quarter, 791 China-Europe freight trains carrying 538,100 tons of goods worth about 3.65 billion U.S. dollars crossed the Alashankou port, up 17.19 percent, 50.06 percent and 1.92 percent year-on-year, respectively. The number of the China-Europe freight trains via Horgos was 691 during the period.
With the resumption of production, the number of the China-Europe freight trains passing through Alashankou has rebounded significantly since late February. The average number of such trains crossing it amounted to 10.9 in March, returning to the normal level of the same period last year.
Urumqi Customs has issued a raft of measures to support development of the China-Europe freight train service, such as optimizing declaration procedures and cutting time for customs clearance. (Edited by Hu Pingchao with Xinhua Silk Road, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
