On the morning of April 2nd, a visit to the Shangang Station of the Rizhao Lanshan Port Railway revealed a two-story building with white walls and a red roof, prominently marked with the station's name, nestled amidst fields, villages, and distant mountains. Inside the station, six electrified tracks stretched north-south, with Harmony electric locomotives pulling container trains laden with goods in orderly transit. According to station staff, during the current peak transport season, nearly 20,000 tons of coal arrive daily at Shangang Station, continuously supplying steel mills and ports. This scene not only ensures industrial operation and development but also serves as a vivid example of the "shift from road to rail" within Shandong's strategy to strengthen provincial transportation.
"Although this railway is only about thirty kilometers long, without connecting this 'last mile,' raw materials simply couldn't be transported directly into the Shangang plant," said Wang Zhen, head of the Operations and Maintenance Center at Rizhao Lanshan Port Railway Co., Ltd. (referred to as Port Railway Company), pointing to the railway and recounting the situation before its construction. He described how hundreds of heavy trucks once traversed the roads daily, covering them in dust and grime. "That stretch of road became so black it couldn't be washed clean," Wang noted, adding that the pavement required reconstruction every one to two years due to the heavy traffic. In 2019, a Shandong television program even highlighted this issue.
More critically, national regulations mandate that coastal major ports must achieve a clean transport ratio of over 80% for coal and bulk cargo. Without rail access, costs were not only high, but transport efficiency was also frequently hampered by weather conditions like coastal fog.
In September 2020, Port Railway Company was established, jointly funded by shareholders including Rizhao Communications Investment Holding Group, China Railway Construction Corporation, Shangang Group Rizhao Co., Ltd., and Shandong Port Rizhao Port Group. Construction began in December of the same year, and on February 18, 2023, the 37.88-kilometer Port Railway officially commenced operations. It connects to the Wari Railway and Xinheyanri Railway in the north, and Lanshan Port and Lanqiao Port in the south. Designed for a speed of 80 km/h with an annual capacity of 35 million tons, the railway represents a total investment of approximately 2.45 billion yuan.
Crucially, the Port Railway features stations at Huaigu, Shangang, and Lanshan Port, with dedicated lines directly linking to the internal rail networks of various steel plants in the Lanshan District. Shangang Station, for instance, has six receiving-departure tracks and two main lines, each with an effective length of 1,050 meters, accommodating full freight trains. "Previously, coal unloaded at Tieniu Temple Station had to be transferred by truck; now it travels directly from Jufeng Station via the Port Railway straight into the plant," Wang stated plainly. "It's equivalent to delivering right to the doorstep."
"That's the coal that just arrived at the plant," said Chen Cheng, Director of the Logistics Management Office at the Manufacturing Management Department of Shangang Rizhao Co., Ltd., later that afternoon in the company's Intelligent Collaborative Control Center. He pointed to a large screen on the right wall, part of a matrix of hundreds of monitoring feeds, showing a wagon loaded with coal being precisely unloaded by a dumper, with more wagons queuing up for entry into storage.
Calculating for iron ore alone, annual raw material cost savings approach nearly 10 million yuan. Following the Port Railway's operation, transport costs for bulk raw materials like coal and steel have decreased across the board. Under normal operating conditions, Shangang Rizhao Co., Ltd. saves nearly 90 million yuan in transport costs annually. "In terms of energy consumption, environmental protection, and supply security, this railway has brought us significant benefits," Chen Cheng reported.
The opening of the Port Railway not only enhanced the steel plant's supply security but also greatly aligned with the requirements for building a "clean factory." Why such substantial savings? Rail transport offers strong stability, rarely affected by weather like heavy fog or snow, enabling continuous day-and-night operation. In contrast, road transport is limited by weather, and trucks often must yield to passenger vehicles, resulting in poor timeliness. Since the Port Railway began operations, it has reduced daily road transport by seven to eight hundred trucks, significantly lowering costs associated with road maintenance and environmental pollution control.
Traditional rail transport often faces the issue of "full loads arriving but empty wagons returning," wasting capacity as empty wagons return after unloading. Port Railway Company has proactively innovated beyond simply acting as a 'landlord' collecting tolls. In 2024, through repeated coordination with China Railway Jinan Bureau and Shandong High-Speed Rail Transit Group, the company launched a "Shared Empty Wagon Dispatch" model. Taking Shangang Station as an example, empty wagons no longer return directly. Instead, they travel via an interconnected section to the Lanshan Port area, are reloaded with cargo such as iron ore, and then pulled back. "The shunting fee per ton of cargo has decreased by about 50%," Wang Zhen stated, noting that transporting one ton of coal via the Port Railway saves approximately 3 yuan in shunting fees for the Lanshan Port area.
Furthermore, the Port Railway innovated with a "Rail Direct + Port FOB" model, achieving "direct ship loading." Before a train even arrives at the station, data such as wagon numbers, cargo type, weight, and estimated arrival time are synchronized with the port dispatch system. The port arranges berths in advance and adjusts ship loaders. Upon arrival, the train proceeds directly to the loading line, with cargo conveyed via belt conveyors into the ship's hold, achieving a全程 "touchless" process.
Particularly noteworthy is the "Single Bill" system. Previously, customers shipping a batch of goods had to deal with multiple parties including the railway, port, shipping company, and insurer, with single-ticket business processing taking 3 to 5 days. Port Railway Company collaborated with relevant parties to offer a "one-time commission, single bill through, one-ticket settlement,全程 responsibility" service. Customers now only need to sign one contract with the railway, make one payment, and obtain one bill of lading, resolving the pain point of multi-party communication. Single-ticket business processing time has been reduced from 3-5 days to within 1 day, and document processing costs have decreased by approximately 40%.
In terms of service standardization, the company has established operational standards covering all links from "collection, delivery, loading, unloading, lashing, to stowage," strictly certifying cooperative units. This enables customers to enjoy全程 services simply by "signing one contract, making one payment, and obtaining one bill of lading." This "one entity manages the全程" model fully embodies a "customer-centric" service philosophy, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction.
Over its three years of operation, the Port Railway's freight volume has increased year by year. "Currently, the Port Railway is still in its market cultivation phase," Wang Zhen admitted. "During the initial project assessment, it was estimated that reaching the breakeven point would take about 10 years. However, with the railway's freight volume growing rapidly year by year, we expect to achieve this goal ahead of schedule by the end of the '15th Five-Year Plan' period."
Wang Zhen mentioned that the Port Railway primarily serves the Phase I facility of Shangang Rizhao Co., Ltd. "Once Shangang's Phase II project and projects like Baowu Mineral Processing are implemented, freight volume will increase significantly." Chen Cheng's expectation for the Phase II project is more direct: "When Phase II is launched in the future, the Port Railway will also help reduce costs for our Phase I operations. The Phase II project is progressing relatively quickly now; we can already see the light at the end of the tunnel."
As the sea breeze gently swept across the platform under the setting sun, another coal-laden train slowly departed from Shangang Station. The 37.88-kilometer railway may not be long, but it represents the robust implementation of the "last mile" in Shandong's transportation strengthening strategy. From coal mines to steel plants, from inland to the ocean, this railway has not only streamlined logistics but also expanded the development landscape.
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