The Shuohuang Railway, operated by China Energy Investment Corporation Co., Ltd. (CHN Energy), has transported over 5 billion tons of coal as of April 2025, marking a major milestone in west-to-east coal transportation in China.
A heavy-haul train on the Shuohuang railway line [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Since its launch in 2000, the railway has played a vital role in ensuring China’s national energy strategy. It has developed a “main line with two branches and multiple connections” transport framework and become a key hub for China’s shift from road to railways.
CHN Energy has built an integrated smart operation system, improving train scheduling precision to the minute level. Its independently developed mobile blocking technology system has reduced train intervals from 11 to 7 minutes, increasing transport density by 35 percent.
Technologies such as 5G + BeiDou-enabled smart inspection trains enable millimeter-level track monitoring, while autonomous heavy-haul trains respond three times faster than human operators. The line has recorded over 300 million tons of annual freight volume for eight consecutive years.
Beyond coal, the railway has expanded to transport 17 categories of non-coal goods such as construction materials and grain. Cumulative non-coal transport volume has exceeded 160 million tons, forming a diversified and high-efficiency freight network.
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
