Chinese railways to speed up 'Singles' Day' deliveries

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China's national railway operator will start a new service to speed up the delivery of goods to meet growing demand during the upcoming "Singles’ Day" online shopping spree.

For ten days from November 11, the so-called "Singles' Day", the China Railway Corporation (CRC) said in a release on Monday that it will provide "storage to storage" service to e-commerce businesses and express delivery companies.

Railways usually provide "station to station" service, transporting goods from one station to another.

The railway department will provide "storage to storage" service to e-commerce businesses and express delivery companies from November 11 to 20. /Photo via china-railway.com.cn

"Singles’ Day" has evolved into the world's largest online shopping festival. Last year, e-commerce giant Alibaba's retail platform, Tmall, received 657 million orders worth a total of more than 120 billion yuan (17.6 billion US dollars) on that single day.

The online shopping spree challenges delivery services to such an extent that customers have complained in the past of late deliveries.

To answer the fast growing demand, a fast service will be provided by the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway this year, with a promise to deliver goods to customers in 10 hours.

The service will rely on the "Fuxing" bullet train that runs at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour and has reduced travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to four and a half hours. The company called the service "the fastest express delivery service in China."

Fuxing high-speed train No. G1 departing from Beijing South Railway Station on September 21. /Xinhua Photo

A bullet train on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway will form a long-term partnership with e-commerce and delivery companies to transport goods, the company said.

CRC will also set up special storage spaces to facilitate transport services for the shopping spree.

The company launched the service for "Singles’ Day" last year. Some 170 bullet trains were used for express deliveries in the same November 11-20 period in 2016, stopping at 505 cities. As with last year, services including same-day arrival, next-morning arrival and arrival in one day will be offered.

A train conductor checking cargo boxesf or a bullet train in Jinan, eastern Shandong Province, during last "Singles' Day" shopping spree. /Xinhua Photo

Last year, the railway department carried out bullet train express deliveries in cities having stops along the high-speed lines. Across China, 505 cities have stops along high-speed railways, including big cities and rural areas.

China has the world's most extensive high-speed rail network, with 22,000 km of railway lines currently in use.

The total length of China's high-speed rail will reach 38,000 km by 2025, and 45,000 km by 2030, according to a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission in July last year.

Source(s): China Daily