Jinhua-Wenzhou sea-rail intermodal train completes maiden voyage

A total of 68 containers carrying "Made in China" products were loaded on Thursday onto a sea-rail intermodal train at the Jinhua South railway station bound for Yueqing Bay Port Area of Wenzhou Port on their way to Southeast Asia. 

This marks the successful first-time operation of the Jinhua South-Wenzhou Port rail-sea intermodal service, operated by Zhejiang Seaport Logistics Group Co, according to the information the company shared with the Global Times on Thursday.

Upon arrival at Wenzhou Port, the cargo will be transported by SITC Container Lines Co in Shanghai and then shipped to Southeast Asia, including Thailand and the Philippines, said Zhejiang Seaport Logistics Group Co, a subsidiary of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group.

According to the local port authorities, the opening of this new sea-rail intermodal train will leverage Jinhua's strategic location as a hub node of the Belt and Road Initiative and effectively promote economic and trade exchanges between the central Zhejiang region and the global market. 

Wenzhou Port, a key near-sea shipping center in southern Zhejiang, has expanded its number of foreign trade routes to 16, covering Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea. For example, shipping from Wenzhou Port to Manila now takes only about 1.5 days, according to the official website of Zhejiang provincial government, ezhejiang.gov.cn.

According to ezhejiang.gov.cn, Jinhua's sea-rail intermodal links to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has positioned the city to the port's "sixth port area", commanding over one-sixth of the port's total sea-rail intermodal transportation volume. 

This maiden voyage of Jinhua South-Wenzhou Port sea-rail intermodal train is expected to drive Jinhua to make significant progress in building a rail-sea intermodal ecosystem integrating shipping companies, inland hubs and coastal ports.

Going forward, the logistics group will leverage its shipping network and distribution functions to foster stronger integration, providing more convenient and efficient logistics services for foreign trade enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Additionally, leveraging Wenzhou Port's geographical advantage, the logistics group will maintain stable operations of the train service. It will also focus on promoting in-depth integration between "sixth port area" of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and Wenzhou Port in port operations, customs services, shipping management, information sharing and operational coordination, providing strong logistics support for high-quality development of local economy, said the Zhejiang Seaport Logistics Group Co.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port handled over 480,000 TEUs via sea-rail intermodal transport in the first quarter of this year - a 9-percent increase, Hu Jinqu, head of the publicity department of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Concerted efforts are underway to optimize intermodal transport channels, enhance digital empowerment and information sharing, fortify multimodal transportation operation models and entity development, and expedite the establishment of a cutting-edge logistics system, Hu said.

Zhejiang's foreign trade continued to grow in the first five months of 2025. From January to May, Zhejiang recorded 2.24 trillion yuan ($312.15 billion) in total imports and exports, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percent. Exports reached 1.69 trillion yuan, up 9.6 percent.

The province accounted for 12.5 percent of China's total foreign trade, 15.9 percent of exports, and 7.5 percent of imports, all up from the same period last year. Zhejiang contributed 20.7 percent to China's total export growth during the period, ranking the first nationwide.