High-speed trains help handle busy express delivery during China's online shopping spree

China's high-speed trains are helping online sellers to deliver their surging orders during the ongoing "Singles' Day" shopping festival, a massive promotion that excites countless consumers across the country every year.

The Singles' Day shopping spree, also known as "Double 11", has put some strains on China's logistics chains, as the soaring orders across e-commerce platforms pile up parcels awaiting express delivery services.

A number of high-speed trains have joined the transport team to deliver the goods as soon as possible to the Double 11 shoppers. A railway staff member said there are 688 stations across 31 Chinese province-level regions now provide the express delivery services.

"The D5904 train departs from the Jinan West Station and is bound to the Beijing South Station, which runs one and a half hours in the full trip to transport 177 pieces of goods. The packages onboard can be unloaded in six minutes," said Li Hao, a railway staff member with the logistics center of the Beijing Railway Administration.

"The number of cities which process the high-speed train express delivery business has reached 249. The high-speed train has become an advantageous logistics service provider for the cold-chain express delivery of food and medicine, the fresh delivery of perishable products, and designated-temperature express delivery. And new service modes have been presented to the cargoes in small or multiple batches as well as those goods with high added value," Li said.

To ensure safe inter-provincial transport amid the COVID-19 resurgences, the railway logistics sector said it has tailored packaging to different products.