BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The decline in China's national rail freight volume slowed in the first seven months.

Rail freight volume in the first seven months dropped 7.3 percent year on year, down from 7.5 percent for the first half and 7.7 percent for the first five months, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Monday.

Railways carried 263 million tonnes of cargo in July, down 5.8 percent from a year ago, said the NDRC.