Business & IndustryAnalysis
Sichuan Launches First Pinglu Canal Multimodal Freight Train to Vietnam
The river-rail-sea corridor connects Chengdu to Southeast Asia, cutting transport distances and lowering container logistics costs.
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The Brief
Sichuan province has dispatched its inaugural river-rail-sea multimodal freight train operating via the Pinglu Canal, sending chemical goods from Chengdu toward Vietnam. Operating under the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor network, the new route combines rail, inland waterway, and maritime shipping. According to corporate estimates cited in state media, routing southwestern freight through the Pinglu Canal shortens the journey to ASEAN markets by more than 560 kilometers and reduces rail transport costs per container by roughly 10 percent.
Why it matters
The route establishes a shorter, more cost-effective logistics corridor connecting inland southwestern China to Southeast Asian markets. By integrating trunk-line rail networks with high-capacity inland waterways and ocean shipping, regional manufacturers gain lower freight costs and more direct access to ASEAN supply chains.
China context
The Pinglu Canal is a flagship mega-infrastructure project designed to give China's landlocked western provinces direct river-to-sea access through Guangxi. As the northern starting hub for the western alignment of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Sichuan has progressively built southbound routes—including rail links to Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar—to bolster inland trade integration.
Editor's View
EDITOR'S VIEW — Analysis and inference, not factual reporting.
The inaugural train reflects Beijing's ongoing push to de-bottleneck logistics for western inland manufacturing hubs. While traditional trade flows historically relied on longer eastward river transit down the Yangtze to coastal ports, southward intermodal transit via Guangxi offers shorter transit times. However, the commercial sustainability and long-term volume of this specific service will depend on transfer efficiency at intermodal transshipment points and overall canal capacity as broader infrastructure projects reach completion.
What to watch
- The operational frequency and regular cargo scheduling of the Sichuan–Pinglu Canal–Vietnam intermodal service.
- Adjustments in southwestern freight volumes and supply chain routing as construction across the wider Pinglu Canal waterway advances.
- Whether additional inland industrial clusters in Sichuan and neighboring provinces adopt the river-rail-sea route for ASEAN-bound exports.
Key Takeaways
- 1The first 'Sichuan–Pinglu Canal–Vietnam' river-rail-sea multimodal freight train departed Chengdu carrying regional chemical products on September 4.
- 2The route utilizes a combined rail, inland waterway, and ocean transit model operated through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.
- 3Corporate estimates indicate the new corridor cuts travel distance from the southwestern hinterland to ASEAN by over 560 km.
- 4Logistics expenses for the rail transit leg are estimated to drop by about 10 percent per container.
Sichuan province flagged off its inaugural multimodal freight train leveraging the Pinglu Canal transit corridor on September 4, dispatching locally produced chemical goods bound for Vietnam, according to a report by People's Daily.
The freight service departed from the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor Chengdu South Consolidation and Distribution Center in Chengdu's Xinjin District. Operating under a combined "rail plus inland waterway plus ocean freight" model, the service is designed to merge the speed of railway trunk transport with the high-volume economics of water freight.
Sichuan serves as a critical junction and the starting hub for the western route of China's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. The province has gradually expanded its pan-southbound logistics framework, which already incorporates rail-sea connections through Guangxi and Guangdong alongside cross-border railway corridors connecting to Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
The addition of the Pinglu Canal connection aims to optimize both transit speed and freight expenditures compared with traditional corridor routes. Zhang Huan, head of the operations management department at Sichuan Land-Sea New Channel Development Co., Ltd., stated that corporate calculations indicate the route will shorten the freight distance between China's southwestern hinterland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by more than 560 kilometers. Zhang added that logistics costs for the railway portion of the trip are estimated to fall by approximately 10 percent per container.
By establishing direct intermodal links to emerging maritime and river channels in southern China, regional planners seek to reduce long-standing geographic barriers for landlocked southwestern industries seeking closer economic ties with Southeast Asian trade partners.
Sources
- 四川首班平陆运河多式联运班列发车--经济·科技--人民网 — People's Daily · 9/4/2026