Currently, Qingdao is accelerating the construction of a world-class international shipping center, which urgently requires the establishment of a convenient and efficient port collection and distribution system. On December 31, 2025, the Dongjiakou to Wulian Railway and Jiaoxin Railway Capacity Enhancement Project, a national project from the "14th Five-Year Plan" for railway development and a key commencement project for Shandong Province in 2025, broke ground. Earlier, in November, the capacity enhancement project for the North Shore Railway in Qianwan Port Area had already commenced construction. As a world-class comprehensive port and a vital maritime gateway for the Yellow River basin region, Qingdao Port serves as an international hub port, a major coastal port in China, and a critical node in the national comprehensive transport system. According to the "Qingdao Port Master Plan (2035)" approved by the Ministry of Transport and the Shandong Provincial Government, Qingdao Port's cargo throughput is projected to reach 810 million tons by 2035, with the types and volumes of cargo handled by each port area expected to change alongside adjustments to the port's functional layout.
Upon completion of the Dongjiakou to Wulian Railway and Jiaoxin Railway capacity enhancement projects, along with the North Shore Railway project in Qianwan Port Area, the rail collection and distribution capacity of Qingdao Port's Dongjiakou and Qianwan Port Areas will surpass 200 million tons. This will significantly expand the port's hinterland reach, better serve the bulk cargo transport needs of regions along the Yellow River basin and areas like Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, continuously solidify Qingdao Port's core position in the global port landscape, and unleash the vitality for coordinated economic development across the Yellow River basin. Furthermore, these projects will profoundly impact Qingdao's efforts to adjust its freight transport structure and build a green, low-carbon transport system.
Externally, these initiatives aim to open up rapid transport corridors to the core hinterlands of the Yellow River basin. Dongjiakou Port Area is the comprehensive port within Shandong Port Group with the largest single planned land area and the most berths, representing the primary growth driver for the group's future. It is slated to handle the main incremental transport demand for Qingdao Port, as well as the transfer of certain cargo types from older port areas like Laogang, Qianwan, and Huangdao. Its focus will be on bulk commodities and container transport, including petroleum products, metal ores, grain, coal, and LNG, while also accommodating cargo like steel and timber, expanding specialized functions such as cold chain logistics, and gradually enhancing commercial and comprehensive service capabilities.
Currently, the external railway access for Dongjiakou Port Area only connects to the Qinglian Railway (mixed passenger and freight use), with a designed annual freight capacity of 30.9 million tons. In 2024, it handled 36.86 million tons of freight (31.88 million tons outbound, 4.98 million tons inbound), indicating that the external railway capacity is already saturated and falls far short of meeting the port's development needs. The Dongjiakou to Wulian Railway and Jiaoxin Railway Capacity Enhancement Project is the largest freight railway project in Shandong Province in recent years in terms of investment scale and route length. Starting from Dongjiakou South Station, it traverses four cities: Qingdao, Weifang, Rizhao, and Linyi. The mainline has a total design length of approximately 196.3 kilometers, comprising two major components: the new Dongjiakou-Wulian railway line and the capacity enhancement of the existing Wulian to Meijiabu section of the Jiaoxin Railway. With a total investment of about 17.577 billion yuan, it is scheduled for completion and operation by 2028.
"This key project is a vital component of Shandong Province's strategy to build a core hub for a multimodal collection and distribution system, and it is the 'lifeline project' for Shandong Port Qingdao Port's Dongjiakou Port Area in its aim to become a national hub for bulk cargo distribution and an important energy storage and transportation center," stated Xing Dongliang, Member of the Party Committee and Vice General Manager of Shandong Port Qingdao Port. Upon completion, the project will directly link Dongjiakou Port Area to the Wari Railway, Yanshi Railway, and Jiaoxin Railway, fundamentally breaking the current bottleneck of insufficient external railway capacity for the port area. It will achieve direct connectivity between the port area and the national trunk railway network, significantly boosting the capacity for cargo collection and distribution. Specifically, the new Dongjiakou-Wulian railway is expected to handle over 80 million tons of annual outbound cargo, pushing the external railway capacity of Dongjiakou Port Area beyond 110 million tons. This will further establish a rapid transport link between Qingdao Port and the core hinterlands of the Yellow River basin, including Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, improve the layout of the eastern national railway network, and promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Internally, the focus is on building an intensive, intelligent, and integrated collection and distribution system. While opening up external channels, Qingdao Port is simultaneously advancing the construction of its internal railway network to create a synergistic effect linking internal and external systems. Currently, the railway master plan for Dongjiakou Port Area follows a three-line layout ("West Line, Central Line, East Line"), planning a total of 43 loading/unloading tracks. Among these, the West Line railway (the existing Dongjiakou Port Railway) has 13 tracks built with 3 reserved; the Central Line is planned to add 13 new tracks, and the East Line 14 new tracks.
Qianwan Port Area is planned as the backbone of Qingdao Port's comprehensive transport hub and a key area for container transport development. Currently, cargo handling and transport within the port area are managed by the existing North Shore Railway. However, the current container handling capacity is inadequate to meet the projected future annual volume of over 3 million TEUs for the North Shore operation area. With the steady growth of mainline container traffic and functional upgrades in both the South and North Shore operation areas, implementing the North Shore Railway Capacity Enhancement Project has become imperative.
This enhancement project is based on serving port collection and distribution needs, building a three-dimensional railway-highway network within the port area, and improving railway operational efficiency. It aims to reconfigure the railway loading/unloading area in Qianwan Port, promoting the organic integration of yards, loading/unloading tracks, roads, and other supporting facilities to establish an intensive, intelligent, and integrated modern collection and distribution system, ultimately reducing both logistics time and operational costs. The project innovatively adopts a collection model combining "terminal shared yards" and "customs direct gates," along with a station layout model featuring "combined transverse and longitudinal classification yards" and "direct national railway loading/unloading tracks." The project involves constructing or upgrading 26 loading/unloading tracks with a total investment of approximately 1.468 billion yuan.
Upon completion, the number of container loading/unloading tracks and the capacity for container rail collection, distribution, and sea-rail intermodal transport at Qianwan Port's North Shore will rank among the top in China. It will achieve a formidable handling capacity of 23.7 million tons of dry bulk cargo annually, along with 2.4 million TEUs in the near term and 3.3 million TEUs in the long term. The annual railway wagon handling capacity upon completion will reach 81 million tons.
"In recent years, with the continuous optimization and adjustment of the industrial structure in the port's hinterland, coupled with stable growth in economic output and foreign trade, port business volume and collection/distribution demand have been steadily increasing," explained Wang Chao, Director of the Railway and Airport Department at the Municipal Transport Bureau. Addressing both current and future needs, Qingdao is integrally promoting the construction of external access channels and internal port railways, continuously strengthening the hardware foundation of the collection and distribution system. Concurrently, it is leveraging the advantage of coordinated development among sea, land, air, and rail ports ("Four-Port Linkage"). By optimizing the connection of transport network layouts, it aims to create a railway transport system with multi-channel interconnectivity, further smoothing the "lifeblood" of port collection and distribution, building a "golden logistics channel" for the Qingdao International Shipping Center, and contributing to the construction of Shandong Province's world-class port cluster.
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