Lianyungang Port Launches Nation's First Open-Top Container Grain Transportation Train

From: Lianyungang Daily Updated: 2024-09-05 05:18

At approximately 6:00 pm yesterday, with a whistle of the locomotive, the nation's first open-top container grain transportation train slowly departed from the loading line of the Dongliang Company at Lianyungang Port, bound for the reserve site of China Grain Reserves Corporation (COFCO) in Henan Province. The train utilizes a 20-foot self-flowing open-top container jointly developed by Lianyungang Port, Xuzhou Railway Company and China Railway Corporation, achieving bulk grain transportation in large volumes with high efficiency, zero loss, and door-to-door service. Qi, the Party Secretary and Chairman of China Railway Jisheng Logistics Co., Ltd., praised, "This is not only a significant breakthrough in China's railway dry bulk cargo containerized transportation equipment sector but also an important measure to promote the development of sea-railway intermodal transportation and strengthen the collaboration between railways and ports."

As one of the five major grain logistics corridors in China, Lianyungang Port has always prioritized serving the grain import and export needs of central and western China and Central Asia. Since initiating bulk grain operations in 1993, it has gradually evolved into an international grain logistics center and a wheat transit cargo transfer base that radiates the Yellow River-Huaihe River-Haihe River region, serves central and western China, and connects with Central Asia. To better adapt to the current trend of accelerating logistics with digitalization, Lianyungang Port is accelerating the development of new productive forces and striving to create a more advanced and efficient containerized transportation model.

At around 10:00 am yesterday, upon receiving the railway instruction, Dongliang Company immediately initiated grain loading. Amid the roar of machinery, soybeans poured out of the telescopic chute and directly into the iron-clad carriages with their top covers opened. Visually, the self-flowing open-top containers resemble placing containers on the carriage floor but have garnered significant industry attention due to the uniqueness of their top cover design.

"Our self-designed containers can achieve zero pollution and zero loss during loading, reducing unnecessary labor and material costs. The entire transportation process is sealed, which better meets customs supervision requirements for imported soybeans." said Ye, the Party Secretary and General Manager of the Port Holding Group Dongliang Company. This special train features an automatically controlled sliding cover on the top of the carriages, each of which can hold approximately 30 tons of bulk grain, solving the issue of high freight costs associated with traditional road transportation for grain.

It is known that this train will transport soybeans imported from Argentina to a COFCO branch in Henan for oil pressing. Wang, the Deputy General Manager of Sales and Logistics at COFCO Oil and Fats Company, expressed delight, saying, "Lianyungang has opened up a new mode of open-top container bulk grain transportation, which to a certain extent makes up for the shortage of specialized bulk grain cars. This not only significantly improves logistics transfer efficiency but also further ensures that national oil and oilseed can be mobilized and utilized when urgently needed."

Compared to traditional bulk grain cylindrical cars and tarpaulin-covered cars, the containers equipped on this train boast high load capacity, automated unloading without tarpaulin covering, easy-to-supervise features, and will be exclusively used for grain transportation in Lianyungang Port for the next two years. Liu Wanqing, Deputy Director of the Xuzhou Railway Logistics Center, anticipates that after the first phase of the Lianyungang Port International Grain Distribution Center is put into operation next year, a 10-million-ton international bulk grain transfer center will emerge, and Lianyungang's circular transportation of bulk grain carriages and open-top container circular trains will contribute to building a domestic logistics supply and security pattern that is "diverse, fast, efficient, and safe".