From Datong in Shanxi Province, located in northern China, to Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China, endless coal trains travel back and forth. This golden transport corridor has long shouldered the vital task of moving coal from north to south and safeguarding the nation's energy supply for CHN Energy.
Among CHN Energy's 14 core enterprises in Inner Mongolia, Xinshuo Railway serves as a key force in railway freight transportation. Stretching 631 kilometers across six cities and 12 counties in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, the railway links 31 stations and has an annual transport capacity of 227 million tons, carrying coal from western Inner Mongolia, western Shanxi and northern Shaanxi to destinations across China.
A 10,000-ton freight train crosses the Shenchi South Grand Bridge.
Jungar Banner in Ordos, where Xinshuo Railway operates, is one of China's richest coal-producing regions. In 2025, Ordos produced about one-fifth of the country's total coal output, with Jungar Banner alone accounting for 40 percent of the city's production. Such abundant resources have also given rise to a dense railway network. Railway density in the region is twice the national average, with multiple operators competing in the same market and competition for freight resources becoming increasingly intense.
To stand out in this highly competitive market, Xinshuo Railway introduced its "1435" development framework and positioned itself at the forefront of market-oriented transformation. In 2025, it transported 161 million tons of freight, while externally sourced coal volume increased by 57 percent year on year. As of June 21 this year, freight volume had reached 82.534 million tons, a net increase of 8.688 million tons compared with the same period last year.
The first step in its market-oriented transformation was to move beyond the traditional role of simply providing transport capacity and instead offer integrated transportation services. By deeply integrating railway corridors, logistics parks, and upstream and downstream industries, the company shifted its growth model from relying on higher coal transport volumes to creating added value through comprehensive services.
As the testing ground for this transformation, the Xinzhun Railway has strengthened cooperation with coal mines along the route by introducing market-based pricing mechanisms and incentive policies to secure core freight volumes. At the same time, it has explored new opportunities in non-coal transportation by opening a transport corridor for coal shipments from Inner Mongolia to the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwestern China, adding 60 million tons of new freight-handling capacity while winning back former customers and attracting new ones.
In Ordos, non-coal freight transport is expanding rapidly. Coal-based kaolin, fly ash from power generation, semi-coke, fiberglass, and agricultural and livestock products are increasingly being transported by rail, creating new opportunities for the region's diversified industrial development.
Most striking of all are the container trains loaded with fresh milk departing from Hohhot and traveling south via Xinshuo Railway to markets in Sichuan Province in southwestern China, Chongqing Municipality in southwestern China, Shanghai in eastern China and Guangdong Province in southern China. For a railway long dedicated to transporting coal, these trains carry special significance. Alongside the traditional "black cargo" of energy resources, a new "white corridor" is rapidly taking shape.
"Transporting fresh milk places extremely demanding requirements on delivery time and temperature control, making it completely different from coal transportation," said Zhao Lisheng, Deputy Director of the Business Department at the Marketing Center. He admitted that the project initially faced challenges, including limited customer confidence, insufficient cold-chain experience and complex operational coordination. The dedicated milk transport team repeatedly visited dairy companies, carefully calculated transport times, optimized loading, inspection and train-marshalling procedures, reduced transfer delays, and implemented end-to-end shipment tracking. Today, the milk service operates on a regular basis, filling a gap in fresh-product rail transportation while providing valuable experience for cold-chain logistics.
"As a central state-owned enterprise, our transportation of 'black cargo' brings warmth to hundreds of cities and lights up countless homes, while our transportation of 'white cargo' is directly connected to people's grocery baskets, rice bowls and milk bottles," said Fu Jianjun, Deputy General Manager of CHN Energy Xinshuo Railway Co., Ltd. "We have traveled far and wide, explored every possibility and spared no effort, all to bring warmth to countless households."
The wheels keep turning day and night. From transporting "black cargo" to "white cargo", from waiting for customers to actively seeking them out, and from providing a single transport service to delivering comprehensive logistics solutions, Xinshuo Railway continues to broaden the path of its transformation.
