COSCO Shipping Ports has unveiled China's first direct rail link to an automated terminal in Xiamen, streamlining sea-rail cargo transport.
COSCO Shipping Ports has launched China's first railway running directly into an automated container terminal at Xiamen, eliminating the trucking leg from sea-rail cargo movements, reports Saint Petersburg's PortNews.
The 1,586-metre line entered service on 29 July at Xiamen Ocean Gate Terminal in Fujian province. The first train departed carrying 35 containers, marking the start of direct rail-to-vessel operations.
The railway extends into the terminal's main operating area and ends 70 metres from the quay, replacing the previous process that required trucking containers 20 kilometres to a freight station. The change is expected to cut logistics costs per container by more than 15 per cent and shorten transit times by two to three days.
The facility is equipped with four automated rail-mounted gantry cranes and three parallel loading tracks. Systems identify container numbers, locate wagons, and support remote handling, while a shared platform coordinates vessel arrivals, terminal operations, and train departures.
Containers can now transfer between the terminal and railway in nine minutes across the 70-metre handling zone. The line has an annual capacity of 250,000 TEU and 250,000 tonnes of breakbulk and general cargo, linking 21 deep-sea services to inland rail corridors serving Jiangxi, Hubei, and Chengdu.
COSCO Shipping Ports, the port operating arm of COSCO Shipping Group, managed 387 berths at 40 ports worldwide as of December 2025, including 238 container berths with an annual handling capacity of about 133 million TEU.
Xiamen Ocean Gate Terminal became a wholly owned subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Ports in February 2023 after the acquisition of the remaining 30 per cent stake.
