During the meeting, the «China-Europe Railway Express High-Quality Development Index,» developed under the leadership of the Transportation and Economics Research Institute of China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), was officially released, marking a new phase of more systematic, standardized, and regular development in the construction of the China-Europe Railway Express operation monitoring and quality evaluation system.
Zhang Wei, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Transportation and Economics Research Institute, provided an in-depth interpretation of the index at the meeting. Leveraging this release, the official China-Europe Railway Express portal simultaneously launched the «High-Quality Development Index» functional module, enabling monthly data updates, dynamic visualization, and authoritative interpretation, thereby providing a scientific basis and support for industry management, enterprise operations, and market analysis.
As a flagship project and hallmark achievement of the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the China-Europe Railway Express has, since its inception, achieved rapid growth in operational scale, continuous expansion of corridor networks, increasingly diverse cargo categories, and steadily improving quality and efficiency. It has become a «golden corridor» connecting the Eurasian continent, smoothing international industrial and supply chains, and serving the nation’s high-level opening-up. As the China-Europe Railway Express enters a new stage of high-quality development, there is an urgent need to establish a scientific, systematic, authoritative, and quantifiable comprehensive evaluation system capable of accurately monitoring operational trends, objectively reflecting development quality, and guiding the optimal allocation of resources.
Under the coordinated guidance of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Transportation and Economics Research Institute of CARS, in collaboration with the BRI Logistics Branch of the China Communications and Transportation Association, led the development of the High-Quality Development Index. After nearly four years of continuous refinement, multiple rounds of expert review, and iterative optimization, involving in-depth research into train operation patterns and extensive consultation with industry regulators, operating companies, freight forwarders, logistics providers, and academic experts, a scientifically rigorous, practical, implementable, and applicable methodological system was ultimately formed, laying a solid foundation for the official release of the index.
The High-Quality Development Index uses June 2020 as its base period, with a base value of 100 points. It is published monthly, with higher values indicating a better overall development trend for the China-Europe Railway Express. The index comprises four sub-indices: Scale, Operational Quality, Border Crossing Efficiency, and Cargo Quality. The synergistic interaction of these four sub-indices enables dynamic monitoring and precise profiling of the development quality of the China-Europe Railway Express.
The official release of the High-Quality Development Index represents another landmark achievement for CARS in serving the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and supporting the quality and efficiency improvement of the China-Europe Railway Express. It not only provides an authoritative «barometer» for industry development but also sets a clear «compass» for the standardized, intensive, and sustainable growth of the China-Europe Railway Express.
