A China-Central Asia freight train bound for Tashkent via Horgos departs from a station in Tianjin Port in North China's Tianjin, May 20, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

China plans to add 11 more freight train runs for the China-Laos Railway, China-Europe freight train service as well as China-Central Asia train service to ensure a stable international supply and industrial chain between Asia and Europe, the country's national railway operator said on Tuesday.

China will implement a new railway operating plan starting from July 1, aimed at improving passenger and freight transport capacity, the China State Railway Group Co said.

In the new plan, 236 passenger train runs will be added across China, bringing the total count to 13,302 runs, the company said. A total of 23,635 freight train runs will operate nationwide after the adjustment, an increase of 39 train runs.

More efforts will be directed to improve the quality of the China-Europe freight train service and China-Central Asia freight train service, according to the state railway operator.

In recent years, China's trade and investment with the five Central Asian countries have grown rapidly, driven in part by the expanding Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the Middle Corridor, a multimodal transportation route connecting China, Central Asia and Europe.

Against this backdrop, many Chinese localities have also launched China-Central Asia freight train service to enhance their trade exchanges to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

On June 16, a freight train carrying auto parts left Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, while a freight train loaded with Kazakh agricultural produce left Almaty, Kazakhstan. The event marked the first two-way freight train service for Wuhan, according to local news outlet cjrb.cn. 

On May 20, the Port of Tianjin in North China launched a freight train service to link with Tashkent, Uzbekistan to transport 50 containers from South Korea to Uzbekistan in two weeks, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The second China-Central Asia Summit is ongoing in Astana, Kazakhstan, from June 16 to 18.

China's total trade with the five Central Asian countries rose 10.4 percent year-on-year in the first five months of 2025, to reach 286.42 billion yuan ($39.89 billion), setting a record high for the period, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Sunday.

Global Times