The Xintian Port "Rongwan" Rail-Water Intermodal Container Train Service Launched

Recently, a container freight train loaded with iron ore concentrate from Panzhihua, Sichuan, slowly entered the New Tian Port terminal in Wanzhou, Chongqing, and stopped at the port's front platform. The gantry crane on the shore immediately started operating, lifting the containers from the train and smoothly transferring them to the port's front area, preparing them for shipment downstream along the Yangtze River. This also signifies that the "Rong-Wan" rail-water intermodal container train, a Sichuan-Chongqing logistics channel that had been dormant for years, has resumed market-oriented operations and returned to regular operation.

Rewinding to 2013, the "Rong-Wan" train was trialed at the Hongxigou Port area. Leveraging the advantages of rail-water intermodal transport, this channel successively expanded to include nine originating stations in Sichuan, such as Chengxiang, Meishan, Puxing, and Xinxing Town. Automotive parts, machinery, fiberglass, building materials, minerals, and sodium sulfate, among other domestic and international trade goods, used this route to connect to the sea, becoming a preferred path for Sichuan enterprises to access global markets. However, due to intensified competition among regional logistics channels and cargo source diversion, the train service transitioned from regular operations to on-demand special trains, leading to intermittent service interruptions.

The pivot for the restart is Wanzhou's New Tian Port.

This modern deep-water hub port in the Three Gorges Reservoir area is one of Chongqing's four strategic multimodal transport hub ports and the only port in Chongqing that integrates rail directly into the port's front-level platform. Its comprehensive rail collection and distribution network, large-scale unloading and storage capacity, and integrated river-sea transshipment facilities—these concentrated hardware advantages have laid the foundation for the revival of this dormant channel.

Through the coordinated efforts of Wanzhou Port, the "Rong-Wan" train has been relaunched at New Tian Port with a new look. "This batch of goods started from Panzhihua Station in Sichuan, passed through Suining, Nanchong, Dazhou, Kaijiang, and Liangping, and headed eastward directly to Wanzhou's New Tian Port, covering a total rail distance of about 600 kilometers. Goods from the Chengdu direction can achieve 'direct transfer from train to ship' upon arrival at the port, connecting to the Yangtze River's golden waterway, while coastal goods can return to Sichuan via the train from New Tian Port," said a representative from Chongqing New Tian Port Logistics Co., Ltd.

The economic benefits are equally tangible. It is reported that materials from Sichuan transported directly to Shanghai via Wanzhou's rail-water intermodal system can save 3–4 days compared to shipping through ports like Luzhou and Yibin. Additionally, the logistics cost per container is reduced by more than 500 yuan compared to other downstream channels.

According to reports, after the "Rong-Wan" train achieves regular operations, it is expected to add more than 5,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of rail-water intermodal container volume annually. Relying on New Tian Port's comprehensive collection and distribution system, the train's operation can effectively recover cargo sources that had flowed out of the region, promoting the large-scale return of goods. The project's implementation at Wanzhou's New Tian Port will further improve the integrated "railway-port-waterway" full-chain service system, effectively addressing challenges such as cargo source loss and weak competitiveness. It will significantly enhance the circulation efficiency of the Sichuan-Chongqing industrial and supply chains, providing strong support for the high-quality development of an open economy in the Three Gorges Reservoir area and the coordinated upgrading of the Sichuan-Chongqing modern logistics industry. This will fully accelerate Chongqing's efforts to build a modern multimodal transport collection and distribution system.