At Manzhouli International Container Yard, the on-site operation was in good order. The huge and towering gantry crane accurately hoisted the containers into place, and the China-Europe Railway Express trains were ready to depart. From January to April this year, Manzhouli Customs supervised a total of 1,563 China-Europe Railway Express trains crossing the Chinese border, up 1.4% year on year. The increase in the number of China-Europe Railway Express trains puts forward higher requirements for customs clearance speed. To further enhance the customs clearance efficiency of China-Europe freight trains, Manzhouli Customs is actively promoting the "Railway Express" supervision model, facilitating the acceleration and efficiency improvement of China-Europe Railway Express trains.
The "Railway Express" model is a significant measure introduced by the GACC to boost the development of international railway intermodal transport. Its aim is to enhance the efficiency and convenience of customs clearance and transportation for railway imports and exports within the border. In this business model, customs conduct auditing, clearance, and verification of electronic data for railway manifests, enabling the supervision of imported and exported goods transported by railway trains without the need for additional declaration and processing of procedures such as transshipment and verification by operating enterprises. The overall clearance time for goods is reduced by an average of about 24 hours, effectively reducing business costs and further enhancing overall clearance efficiency.
To help businesses make the most of the "Railway Express" model, Manzhouli Customs relies on the "Customs-Enterprise Liaison" mechanism, providing "one-on-one" policy services and actively conducting online policy briefings to stimulate business participation and continuously enhance their sense of gain. Taking into account the characteristics of railway port transportation, a support ledger for enterprises has been devised, reducing the number of items for application and reporting to six. This effectively lowers business costs and unleashes the dividends of reform. At present, the "Railway Express" mode has realized normal operation and shows a rapid growth trend. In the first four months of this year, Manzhouli Customs supervised 2,654 shipments under the "Railway Express" model, a year-on-year increase of 2.2 times.
"By using the Railway Express clearance model, we can handle application procedures in advance, reducing the time our goods spend at the port and significantly saving on operating costs for our company," said Yang Jingwei, the head of Manzhouli Xindatong Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd.
Manzhouli Customs will leverage the development of smart customs as a key initiative, continuing to conduct in-depth research and optimize innovations in railway customs supervision. They aim to contribute to the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, establish a significant gateway for opening to the north, and facilitate the smooth operation of the China-Russia land logistics corridor.
Disclaimer：The above content is translated from Chinese version of GACC. The Chinese version of GACC shall prevail.