On January 5, a China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) freight train, fully loaded with goods including LCD television components, departed smoothly from the Chengdu International Railway Port. It is expected to arrive at its destination, Łódź in Poland, in just over ten days. "Since the start of the new year, the China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) has maintained highly efficient operations. From January 1 to 4, Chengdu alone has already dispatched 34 trains," said a relevant official from the Administrative Committee of the Chengdu International Railway Port Economic and Technological Development Zone.

The China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) is the country's first cross-provincial China Railway Express brand, jointly launched by Chengdu and Chongqing. Its first trains departed simultaneously from both cities on January 1, 2021. Over the five years since the co-established brand's launch, China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) has operated more than 26,000 trains, maintaining a leading position nationwide in terms of operational scale. Its network now connects over 100 cities worldwide, ranking it as the country's top-performing China Railway Express service with the highest volume, most balanced operations, optimal cargo structure, broadest regional cooperation, and most stable transportation.

Connectivity boosts trade, and trade clusters industries. Taking the China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) as the core, the Chengdu-Chongqing region is building an international logistics corridor, jointly fostering an open market, and promoting coordinated development. Port-based manufacturing products such as TCL's smart home appliances from Chengdu and CHANGAN Automobile's new-energy vehicles from Chongqing, as well as international supply chain enterprises, are using this golden artery to go global. Meanwhile, global automotive parts, precision equipment, and agricultural products flow into the Chengdu-Chongqing market via the same rail link. Together, they form a closed-loop industrial chain of "import-export, processing-manufacturing, re‑export".

By the end of 2025, the China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) had attracted over 200 major industrial projects, driving the Chengdu-Chongqing region to form four trillion-yuan industrial clusters in electronics and information technology, automobile manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, and new materials. Among these, 70 percent of "Made in Sichuan" electronic and information technology products are exported via the China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing). Companies such as Chongqing-based CHANGAN Automobile and SERES utilize the railway for both importing components and exporting complete vehicles, which has in turn attracted supporting enterprises in batteries, motors, and related sectors to establish operations in the Chengdu-Chongqing region.

A relevant official from the Chengdu International Railway Port Investment Development (Group) Co., Ltd. stated that Chengdu and Chongqing are continuously amplifying the "China Railway Express plus" effect, making every effort to develop specialized freight services in pharmaceuticals, cold chain logistics, and mail transport, among other fields. Recently, the China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) Cold Chain Distribution Center was established, which will provide a more efficient dedicated channel for the import and export of high-value-added fresh produce and pharmaceutical products in southwest China. "This year, we will continue to deepen premium routes such as Chengdu-Europe Express, Lancang-Mekong-Chengdu-Europe Express, and Viet Nam-Guangxi-Chengdu-Europe, with a particular focus on expanding specialized cold-chain services for fresh fruits, frozen meats, biopharmaceuticals, as well as postal and cross-border e-commerce freight trains, to build a 'Rail Freight + Industry' product ecosystem."

A relevant official from the Chengdu Municipal Port and Logistics Office stated that this year, Chengdu and Chongqing will continue to expand the southern corridor of the China Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing), jointly promote the co-development and sharing of overseas resources, provide robust transportation services for export-oriented enterprises in both regions, drive economic and trade growth of the two places, and support the high-quality development of industrial clusters.