China aims to raise the rail share of long-distance coal and coke shipments from major producing regions to about 95% by 2030, under a multi-modal transport plan issued by the Ministry of Transport and 11 other government departments.

The plan, a copy of which was released on September 29, sets a target that long-distance transport — defined as shipments over 500 km — of coal and coke from large industrial and mining enterprises in the major producing regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang should be handled by rail at a rate of about 95% by 2030.

Under the plan, China will strengthen the function of comprehensive freight corridors by focusing on coal, iron ore, grain and other key national commodities, relying on the "6 axes, 7 corridors and 8 channels" backbone of the national comprehensive transport network.

The country will accelerate capacity expansion and upgrading of railway bottleneck sections, promote digital and intelligent upgrading of busy cross-regional and cross-basin corridors, and improve the capacity of trunk waterways to smooth river-sea intermodal channels in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions.

To support industrial parks, the plan calls for stepped-up construction of dedicated pithead railway lines for shipping Xinjiang coal out of the region.

In the section on transport structure adjustment, the plan urges faster development of key corridors including the "west-to-east coal transport" route and the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, and the integration of corridor development with industrial layout, energy supply and cross-regional industrial cooperation. It supports the construction of railway freight corridors behind ports and the establishment of green corridors such as the "west-to-east coal transport" route. Bulk commodities such as coal, grain and iron ore will be prioritized in shifting long-distance transport from road to rail, from road to water, and from bulk to containerized shipping.

By 2030, the share of clean transport — via rail, water, pipelines, enclosed belt conveyor corridors and new energy trucks — should reach 85% for key industries in priority regions, including thermal power, steel, coal, coking, aluminum smelting and cement.

The plan also calls for accelerating the construction and use of port-dredging railways, dedicated railway lines and enclosed belt conveyor corridors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and surrounding areas, as well as the use of new energy trucks. It urges improving the layout of backbone corridors such as "north-to-south coal transport" and "west-to-east coal transport" from the major coal-producing regions of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and coordinating capacity expansion and upgrading of strained sections on key routes including Xinjiang coal outward shipment and Shaanxi coal southward and eastward shipment, while improving the railway collection and distribution system. The plan calls for strengthening coordination between railways and major coal ports to improve connectivity. New and expanded projects in key industries including thermal power, steel, coal, coking, aluminum smelting and cement should in principle adopt clean transport.

The plan also aims to effectively improve the navigability and resilience of the Yangtze River main line, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, the Huaihe River main line and the Jianghuai main line, and enhance the trunk-branch coordination efficiency of the high-grade waterway network in the Yangtze River Delta. It calls for improving the navigability of the Xijiang River main waterway and strengthening the sea-river intermodal channels with multiple outlets to the sea in the Pearl River Delta.

The plan urges stronger alignment of intermodal routes along the Yangtze and Pearl rivers, vigorous development of inland river container transport, and the advancement of river-sea intermodal transport to build green shipping corridors.

Check more details for the "Action Plan for Promoting High Quality Development, Optimizing and Adjusting Transport Structure of Multimodal Transport (2026-2030)" (Chinese version).