URUMQI, Sept. 26 -- Horgos pass in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had 2,105 China-Europe freight trains passing through it in Jan.-Aug. period, up 109.24 percent year on year, local customs data showed.

In the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Horgos has become an essential hub on the new Eurasian Land Bridge.

The total freight volume of the freight trains reached 1.84 million tonnes during the period, up 88.29 percent year on year.

A total of 1,817 outbound trains were mainly from Chinese cities such as Lianyungang, Zhengzhou and Chengdu, carrying commodities including garments, general merchandise, electronic products and chemical products.

Meanwhile, the 288 inbound freight trains were from countries such as Germany, Poland, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, carrying various imported goods like cotton yarn, building materials and auto spare parts.

The booming business at Horgos was possible as local authorities have worked to expedite customs clearance, which enabled the freight trains operators to complete customs clearance within 21 hours at the Horgos pass.

Reloading time for a whole train has been reduced from 6 hours on average in 2017 to three hours and a half at present.