China's rail freight volume hits record high in April

BEIJING, May 1 (Xinhua) -- China's rail cargo volume, a key indicator of economic activities, rose 10.1 percent year on year and hit a record high in April, data from the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) showed.

A total of 330 million tonnes of cargo was transported on China's railways in the period, 30.18 million tonnes more than that in the same period last year, said the company.

Noting the strong demand for railway freight transport last month, a China Railway official said that China's railways established green channels to transport anti-COVID-19 supplies, agriculture materials, and coal.

In the period, 6.03 million tonnes of agricultural supplies such as chemical fertilizers and seeds were transported, surging 47.6 percent year on year.

Coal for power generation carried on railways totaled 110 million tonnes last month, up 12.1 percent year on year and ensuring coal storage in 363 power supply plants for 28.6 days.

Rail cargo transport through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor increased by 19.6 percent to 63,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers in April. The China-Laos Railway carried 132,000 tonnes of goods for import and export.