On 9 October 2026, China’s Ministry of Transport carried a China Transport News report stating that Western Land-Sea New Corridor rail-sea intermodal container volume had already surpassed 1 million TEU year-to-date as of 6 October. The ministry framed the milestone as continued capacity expansion and network densification supporting Southwest foreign trade and dual-circulation logistics.
Bidirectional demand between Sichuan–Chongqing and Beibu Gulf ports remains strong. Chongqing trains carrying export cargo to Qinzhou Port reached 120,000 TEU this year, up 31.7% year on year, with outbound volumes of auto parts, construction machinery and tyres up 95%. Inbound industrial raw-material trains from Qinzhou to Chongqing totaled 53,000 TEU, up 28.7%, and quartz sand, spodumene and zinc concentrate volumes nearly tripled year on year.
When the Three Gorges ship lift underwent maintenance in September and constrained river–sea capacity, railways absorbed diverted cargo. September volumes on Chongqing Xiaonanya–Qinzhou Port East and the reverse direction both more than doubled year on year (+119.5% and +106.9%), filling the temporary waterway gap for Southwest exporters.
Infrastructure and timetable changes are next. Dual-track projects on the Qinzhou–Fangcheng and Qinzhou Port hinterland railways are in the final stage and are scheduled to enter service from later this year into the first half of next year, lifting rail evacuation capacity behind Beibu Gulf ports. After the national Q4 rail diagram takes effect, fixed Western Land-Sea New Corridor train paths rise to 54, including two newly added fixed lines linking Guangxi more densely with Sichuan–Chongqing, the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area and China–Vietnam border gateways.