The number of China-Europe freight trains crossing the inland port of Alashankou in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has reached 992, carrying 729,200 tons of goods as of March 12 this year, according to customs data, Xinhua News Agency reported.

A cargo train carrying British products enters China through the Alashankou Port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua file photo)

These trains transported a total of 92,900 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of goods as of the same date. Wang Wei, a person in charge of the customs declaration department with a local freight forwarder, said the company has served over 100 China-Europe freight trains, a year-on-year increase of 115 percent.

Ma Yun, an assistant engineer with the management department of Alashankou port, said that the port has seen an increasing amount of commodities transferred to it by air and sea this year. To keep up with the expanding volume, the port has optimized procedures such as the reloading of goods.

The Alashankou port has set up special service windows for the freight trains to make sure that clearance can be carried out 24/7. Meanwhile, it has adopted a digital bill platform and a transportation management system to improve customs clearance efficiency.