According to a message from the "China Railway" official account, China Railway Group has implemented relevant national laws and regulations, further optimized and improved railway freight transport business rules, and formulated the "China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. Railway Freight Transport Regulations" (hereinafter referred to as the "China Railway Group Railway Freight Transport Regulations"), which officially took effect on October 1, 2026. Supporting this, the "China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. Railway Freight Operations Conditions Management Rules" (hereinafter referred to as the "China Railway Group Railway Freight Operations Conditions Management Rules") were also formulated and implemented simultaneously. These measures will better serve the development of the modern logistics system, help reduce logistics costs across society, and provide railway transport support for building a unified national market.

In recent years, China Railway Group has actively adapted to the rapid development of China's logistics market, accelerated the construction of a modern railway logistics system, continuously deepened market-oriented reform of freight transport, upgraded railway freight equipment and facilities, and innovatively introduced new railway logistics products and services, promoting the transformation of traditional railway freight transport toward modern logistics. New changes have occurred in the field of railway freight transport, necessitating further optimization and improvement of relevant institutional measures.

To better adapt to the new situation and new requirements of building a modern logistics system and a unified national market, further enhance the standardization, scientificity, market-orientation, and rule-of-law level of railway freight transport, and effectively safeguard the rights and interests of railway logistics customers and transport enterprises, China Railway Group conducted a comprehensive and systematic revision of the original railway freight transport institutional measures based on relevant national laws and regulations and the "Railway Freight Transport Rules" issued and implemented by the Ministry of Transport on May 1 of this year. This was done on the basis of in-depth summary of practical experience and extensive solicitation of opinions and suggestions. The "China Railway Group Railway Freight Transport Regulations" were researched and formulated, consisting of 11 chapters and 98 articles. It clarifies the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved in railway freight transport, including carriers and shippers, and provides detailed provisions on matters related to consignment and carriage, loading and unloading, in-transit transport, handover and delivery, and customer service. It will provide fundamental basis and institutional guarantees for the high-quality and efficient conduct of railway freight transport business.

Compared with existing railway freight transport provisions, the main changes in the "China Railway Group Railway Freight Transport Regulations" are as follows: First, highlighting the achievements of market-oriented reform. Based on the enterprise nature of China Railway Group, it actively promotes market-oriented reform of competitive segments, reduces approval content, and adds market-oriented service content such as logistics finance and dedicated line operations. It upholds the equal market entity status of all types of railway transport enterprises and standardizes and clarifies the requirements for intermodal cooperation among railway freight transport participants, including national railways, joint venture railways, local railways, and dedicated lines (dedicated railways), to better serve the building of a unified national market.

Second, enhancing the level of rule-of-law operations. It further clarifies the definitions of railway freight transport carriers, shippers, and consignees, as well as the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of all parties, standardizing market order. It clarifies the normative requirements and important significance of various railway freight transport contracts, clearly delineates responsibility boundaries, strengthens performance requirements, improves compensation standards and handling procedures, and safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of all parties. In accordance with the spirit of the "Civil Code," it further improves the legal rights protection for shippers and consignees. For example, "weight determined by the carrier" has been changed to "weight determined by whoever loads the vehicle, with the carrier having the right to recheck"; the penalty for exceeding the delivery deadline has been changed from "compensation to the consignee" to "compensation to the shipper"; the validity period for shippers to file claims or request refunds or supplementary payments from carriers has been extended from 180 days to three years; and some exemption clauses for carriers have been abolished, strengthening carrier responsibility and better safeguarding the rights and interests of logistics customers.

Third, promoting cost reduction and efficiency improvement in railway freight transport. It actively extends the service chain. On the basis of traditional station-to-station transport, it clearly supports the development of rail-road and rail-water intermodal transport, providing one-stop logistics services with one commission, one settlement, and one insurance. It actively promotes equipment interconnection, establishes unified principles for rules and standards of direct transport equipment between national railways and joint venture railways and local railways, clarifies responsibility division and handover inspection provisions, and enhances the facilitation level of handling direct or connecting transport. It actively promotes information interconnection and supports the standardized docking and data sharing of information systems between railway transport enterprises and with other transport modes.

Fourth, improving the quality of railway logistics services. It fully leverages the digital and intelligent empowerment role of platforms such as Railway 95306, clearly optimizes railway freight operation processes, and enhances the standardization, convenience, and integration level of freight services. Relying on the improvement of facility and equipment capabilities and dispatch command levels, it adjusts the calculation standards for delivery time limits, compresses the expected transport time under the same mileage, and further improves the timeliness of railway freight transport. For time-sensitive goods such as perishable items, the allowable delivery period has been changed from requiring more than 3 days to 2 days. Adapting to the construction of a modern logistics system, it continuously promotes innovation in railway logistics products and clearly supports the development of new products and services such as electronic waybills, logistics finance, dedicated line operations, and risk protection.

Fifth, advocating green development of railway freight transport. It strengthens dust management for bulk cargo. For dust generated during the transport and loading/unloading of coal and other bulk goods, loading and unloading organization units are required to take effective dust suppression measures. It strengthens pollution management in freight operations, clarifies operation requirements such as washing and decontamination, and reduces environmental pollution that may be generated by freight operations.

The newly compiled "China Railway Group Railway Freight Operations Conditions Management Rules" also took effect simultaneously on October 1, consisting of 7 chapters and 37 articles, and includes four annexes: "Railway Freight Direct Transport Provisions," "Railway Dedicated Line and Dedicated Railway General Commodity Name List," "Application Material Requirements for Publishing and Adjusting Line Freight Operations Conditions," and "Railway 95306 Transport Document and Telegram Management Requirements." It covers the entire railway freight business chain and clarifies the principles and scope of railway freight operations conditions, the management responsibilities and authorities of railway transport units at all levels, management of railway line freight operations conditions, management of railway station freight operations conditions, online handling procedures for the Railway 95306 platform, and provisions related to railway freight direct transport. It is an important basis for railway transport enterprises to carry out freight management, standardize operation processes, ensure transport safety, and effectively improve freight service quality and management levels.

The "China Railway Group Railway Freight Transport Regulations" and the "China Railway Group Railway Freight Operations Conditions Management Rules" have been published in full through the Railway 95306 platform. Next, China Railway Group will continue to accelerate the construction of a modern railway logistics system, continuously optimize and improve China's railway logistics product system, and make new and greater contributions to reducing logistics costs across society and serving China's economic and social development.