On May 4, a “TISCO freight train” set off with 1000 tons of high-grade stainless steel goods from Zhongding Logistics Park of Taiyuan Bureau Group of China Railway Corporation, to Moscow, the Russian capital. It was the first time TISCO had utilized the freight service of China-Europe Railway Express (CR express), a rail link that is highlighted as crucial to the Belt and Road Initiative, to reach its European customers.

 

The TISCO freight train will leave China from Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the eastern gateway of CR Express and arrive at a station in Moscow, after going through a distance of 8,800 km.Shanxi provincial government, relative customs authorities and railway departments all offered substantial support to the TISCO freight train. They have made many times coordination with regards to TISCO and its customer’s demands and provided the greatest convenience in route, goods loading, shipment, customs clearance, and other aspects. Under common efforts, it took only 5 days to finish all the loading work.

 

It is disclosed that the stainless steel goods in TISCO freight train is to deliver to the biggest stainless steel processor in Russia, who is also one of the most important trade partners of TISCO. The stainless steel exported by TISCO to its Russia customers used to spend up to 60 days and experienced several times of loading and unloading in transit before they reached their destination. After being loaded onto a truck at the company's base, the products were driven to Tianjin Port on the south coast of China and transferred to a ship that then docked in St. Pizburg of Russia, from where the goods were loaded again in a truck that finally headed to Moscow. Things changed, however, when the company switched to using a China Railway Express freight service that shortened the journey to around 15 days and cut the loading and unloading to only once.

 

A TISCO insider said CR Express has brought tangible benefits to the company and its customers. It greatly reduces the capital and time costs of customers; and at the same time, effectively improves the company’s ability of customer service, enhances its international competitiveness and truly realizes a win-win situation. TISCO will, by the aids of CR Express, strive to normalize the communication and link between China and Europe, so as to constantly expand channels to participate in international competition, and meanwhile, to make contributions to the transformation and upgrading of Shanxi province and the construction of "the belt and road initiative".