A cargo train carrying 30 containers of coal leaves Zhenhai Port Area in Ningbo on May 20. [Photo/zjol.com.cn] 

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port recently shifted its coal transport from road to railway out of environmental concerns, with the first train carrying 30 containers of coal leaving the Zhenhai Port Area in Ningbo and heading for Shaoxing on May 20.

The move is a response to the joint notice released by nine national departments last year requiring a change in the transport of port bulk cargo, from road transport to railway transport, to control air pollution. 

As required, 75 percent of the annual national coal output will be transported by rail within three years. By 2020, rail cargo in the Yangtze River Delta region will be increased by 10 percent, and road transport of port bulk cargo decreased by 440 million metric tons.

While the first train carries only 30 standard containers of coal, a normal cargo train will transport 108 standard containers weighing more than 3,450 tons when the project enters normal operation, which will mean a reduction of exhaust emissions produced by nearly 400 large trucks in Zhejiang per day, according to Wu Shaoqiang, general manager of the Ningbo Port Railway Co.

In addition, the special train with 35-ton open-top containers is a new model for the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, and is easier to load and move compared with trucks.

The special train for transporting the coal features many 35-ton open-top containers. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]