Railway cargo transport in China increases by 4.5% in March

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Industrial data has shown that the railway cargo transport in March in China has increased by 4.5% compared with February as different sectors aim to resume production.

Many sectors were shut down after the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic brought the country to a halt.

Xinhua quoted the China State Railway Group as saying that 346 million tonnes of cargo were delivered in March by rail.

Cargo transport saw a stable increase as the industry implemented measures to aid freight operations.

These measures aimed to support the supply of materials and ‘smooth the logistics chain’ to support the enterprises when they resume services.

The daily transport of coal registered a month-on-month increase of 5.1% while the cargo of fertiliser and pesticide saw a 40% month-on-month increase.

China State Railway Group aims to aid firms in decreasing the costs of logistics to soften the blow of the outbreak by fee cuts, prioritising freight services and boosting the service quality.

Yesterday, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Hubei Province, China, opened for passengers after around two months of closure.

Earlier this month, China restarted the construction work on the all metro and railway projects that were suspended due to the pandemic.

Last month, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it has temporarily suspended the entry of foreign travellers who have visas or residence permits.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) reported that on 8 April, 63 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in mainland China, of which 61 were imported. NHC added that there were two deaths, both of which were from Hubei province.

The total cases of imported infections in the country currently stand at 1,103.