More freight has been transported via the railway network in the first three quarters of this year, showcasing the transport sector's efforts to boost green development by optimizing the transport structure.

According to China State Railway Group, the national railway operator, from January to September, the national railway network handled 2.91 billion metric tons of cargo, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent.

Coal made up the bulk of that cargo — about 1.1 billion tons — up 17 percent year-on-year.

A total of 12,000 freight train services were operated between China and Europe during that period, a 7-percent increase year-on-year. The trains carried a total of 1.18 million cargo containers, up 8 percent year-on-year.

Some 555,000 cargo containers were transported via rail-sea intermodal trips along the New Western Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a year-on-year growth of 22 percent.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in the section promoting the country's green development, notes the optimization of the transport structure to boost green development.

Han Jinghua, deputy director of the transport services department of the Ministry of Transport, said at an earlier news conference that the transport sector has promoted the use of railways and waterways and reduced road transportation.

Compared with road transportation, railway systems use less energy and produce less gas, which is more environmentally friendly.

Road transportation, especially heavy haulage trucks using diesel, leads to more greenhouse gas emissions.

According to China State Railway Group, this year the company has increased freight transportation by using newly opened railway lines, as well as the capacity released from suspended passenger trains due to COVID-19 protocols.

"The leading role of railways in transporting bulk cargo has been promoted. Efforts have been made to improve the transport capacity of the railway network, boosting the efficiency of the use of heavy-loaded railway lines such as the Haoji Railway and Watang-Rizhao Railway," Han said.

Haoji Railway, one of the world's longest heavy haulage railways for coal transportation, starts in Haolebaoji in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and ends in Ji'an, Jiangxi province. Watang-Rizhao Railway, that starts from Watang in Shanxi province and ends in Rizhao of Shandong province, is also a main corridor to transport coal.

Han said the sector has been promoting the transport of bulk cargo such as coal and minerals via railway, and as a result, the railway network carried 1.95 billion tons of coal last year, up 8.3 percent year-on-year.

Han also noted that the efforts have paid off. The transported cargo volume via the railway network accounted for 9.2 percent of all moving freight last year, compared to 7.8 percent in 2017.