The first China-Europe Railway Express train of 2026 departed from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on January 1 under the supervision of Zengcheng Customs, a subsidiary of Huangpu Customs. The train left Zengcheng West Railway Station in Guangzhou and is expected to reach Małaszewicze, Poland, in approximately 14 days via the Khorgos border crossing.
The service carried 110 standard containers with cargo valued at approximately RMB 20 million, including electronics, consumer goods, textiles, and apparel manufactured in the Greater Bay Area.
As one of South China's major international rail freight hubs, Zengcheng West Railway Station plays an important role in connecting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with Belt and Road partner countries. The station currently operates 14 outbound and 8 inbound China-Europe Railway Express routes, linking 34 cities across 17 countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.
To ensure the smooth departure of the year's first China-Europe Railway Express service, Zengcheng Customs established a dedicated service window covering customs declaration, inspection, and cargo release. Enterprises were also encouraged to use advance declaration and appointment-based customs clearance services to streamline the export process.
The customs authority continues to promote the Railway Express Customs Clearance Model, which enables coordinated supervision between inland and border customs offices. The optimized process reduces overall customs clearance time by up to two days.
According to Guangzhou Communications Investment International Railway Operations Co., Ltd., continuous support from customs and railway authorities has enabled the launch of Guangzhou's first cross-border e-commerce railway express service and the development of multimodal "One Waybill" and "One Container" transport solutions along the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan corridor.
The operator has also expanded China-Russia railway services and strengthened ASEAN railway routes while accelerating construction of the Guangzhou China-Europe Railway Express Consolidation Center.
Looking ahead, Zengcheng Customs will continue optimizing the business environment, improving customs facilitation, and supporting higher-quality China-Europe Railway Express operations to enhance international logistics connectivity and promote foreign trade development across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
