Since the launch of Regional Container Lines' (RCL) Red Sea Express, it has now linked up with the Chongqing-Guangzhou (Yu-Sui) Railway Express for the first time to carry out export business bound for the Red Sea direction.

Recently, a batch of heavy containers filled with auto parts produced by local OEMs in Chongqing departed from Chongqing Guoyuan Port aboard the Yu-Sui rail-sea intermodal train, heading to Guangzhou Nansha Port. The shipment consists of 24 40-foot high-cube containers. Upon arrival at the port, these goods will be transferred directly onto RCL's Red Sea Express for direct sailing to the Red Sea.

This marks the first time the RCL Red Sea Express has coordinated with the Yu-Sui Railway Express for exports to the Red Sea since its inception, signifying that the direct outbound express route from Chongqing to the Red Sea has been officially established, further perfecting the foreign trade route layout of the Yu-Sui corridor.

It is understood that the Red Sea is a key shipping artery for Southwest China to reach the Middle East and North Africa. RCL's new Red Sea Express operates using 3,000 TEU vessels, implementing a regular weekly schedule with a transit time of approximately 27 days, providing direct access to core hub ports in the Red Sea.

The linkage of this route with the Yu-Sui Railway Express has opened up a convenient logistics channel connecting the Southwest inland region directly to the Red Sea. Leveraging the advantages of the Yu-Sui Railway Express—stable transit time of 48 hours and regular departures four times a week—it effectively simplifies customs clearance processes. Compared with traditional transportation modes, the comprehensive logistics efficiency has improved by 20%, and logistics costs have been reduced by 25%, providing Sichuan-Chongqing auto parts enterprises with a stable and cost-effective channel for going global.

As a comprehensive main hub port in South China, Guangzhou Nansha Port serves as the core port of call for RCL's Red Sea Express, featuring well-developed supporting facilities and efficient customs clearance. Chongqing Guoyuan Port, deeply rooted in the inland region, aggregates a large number of automobile manufacturing enterprises and serves as an important export distribution center for auto parts products in the Southwest.

Relying on the synergistic advantages of these dual hubs, both parties have integrated high-quality resources from railways, ports, and shipping to create a full-link logistics service of "loading in Chongqing, direct railway transport, outbound from Nansha, and direct sailing to the Red Sea." This implements a logistics solution of "one entrustment, one bill to the end, and one container to the end," strengthening the channel's adaptability to the automotive industry.

Currently, the Yu-Sui rail-sea intermodal corridor has achieved multi-category, regularized transportation, covering cargo types such as automobiles, cold chain products, and timber, with steadily improving logistics operational quality.

The implementation of RCL's Red Sea special train is an important step for the Yu-Sui corridor to deepen its engagement with the automotive industry chain and improve its Middle East route network. It will fully leverage the联动 (linkage) advantages between the Greater Bay Area and the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin City Economic Circle, assist Southwest local manufacturing in going global, optimize the inland business environment, and inject momentum into improving the quality and efficiency of regional foreign trade and building a dual-circulation development pattern.