Smart technology empowers operations of China-Europe freight trains

Workers operate gantry cranes via an automated container handling system at Zhongding Logistics Park. [Photo/Yellow River News] 

At the Zhongding Logistics Park in North China's Shanxi province, towering gantry cranes and neatly arranged containers are operating in perfect harmony under the control of an automated container handling system. 

This system consists of three main components: the remote monitoring automated gantry crane, the unmanned guided vehicle for containers, and the yard management and operation scheduling system. 

With these in place, operators can remotely control and manage operations from the command center, which improves efficiency and ensures safety. 

Zhongding Logistics Park is a first-tier railway logistics base planned and constructed by China Railway Group. 

The park has 14 railway lines, including seven arrival and departure lines and five freight lines, all connected to the main railway lines and marshalling yards through connecting lines. The park's annual throughput is 14 million metric tons.

An unmanned guided vehicle for containers is seen in operation at Zhongding Logistics Park. [Photo/Yellow River News] 

Wang Guoqing, deputy general manager of Shanxi Zhongding Logistics Group Co, said that this year the park has handled 91 international freight trains, 41 of which were China-Europe freight trains and 50 of which were those running between China and Central Asia. 

Since the first China-Europe freight train was launched six years ago, Shanxi has sent more to destinations like Munich in Germany, Malashevich in Poland, Bapolodar in Kazakhstan, and Paris in France. 

Products made in Shanxi, including locomotive wheel sets, electromechanical equipment, and automobile parts, have reached countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative via these trains.