A freight train carrying 300 metric tons of frozen wasabia japonica departs from Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A freight train carrying 300 tons of frozen wasabia japonica recently departed from Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, bound for Qingdao Port of Shandong Port Group (SPG). From there, the goods will be shipped to Koegel Port and other European ports by sea. 

This marks the launch of a cold-chain freight train service on the Yinchuan-Qingdao Port route, a collaboration between SPG Logistics Group and Sinotrans (Ningxia) Logistics Development Company. The transport model of the freight train service is characterized by "a single document covering the entire journey", which is poised to streamline international logistics corridors and provide more convenient and efficient logistics services to customers in Yinchuan and its surrounding regions.

Situated at the intersection of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, Yinchuan acts as a pivotal node on the Silk Road Economic Belt. In recent years, SPG Logistics Group has leveraged the strategic location of Yinchuan to tap into local industrial needs, launching the Ningxia-Qingdao Port sea-rail combined container freight train and the "single-document" freight train. 

In January, SPG hosted a promotion conference on the integrated supply chain service of Ningxia Hui autonomous region in Yinchuan, laying a foundation for the implementation of this business. 

The "single-document" cold-chain freight train service is a new business innovation pioneered by the Logistics Group to promote sea-rail combined transportation. The service has combined the resources of ports, customs, railways and shipping companies, avoiding redundant transit throughout the entire journey. This has reduced logistics costs by 20 percent for customers.