[photopress:freight_train_approaches_Kunming.jpg,full,alignright]China’s Ministry of Railways reports the railway freight volume between China and Russia totaled 33.8 million tons in 2006. Manzhouli, the main crossing on the Sino-Russian border, put through 21 million tons of freight last year, including 32,683 containers, up 42% year on year.
Trains from the two countries carried 6.2 million tons of freight in the first two months of 2007, up 17.5% year on year. The surge is partly due to oil shipments.
In 2006, railways carried 10.3 million tons of crude oil between China and Russia, an increase of almost 30%. According to official data rail freight grew by 26% annually in the 1995-2005 period, rising from 7.7 million to 30.9 million tons.
Source: China View