The one millionth container is transported via the sea-rail combined transport model at the Ningbo Zhoushan Port. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

More than 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) had been shipped via a sea-rail combined transport model at the Ningbo Zhoushan Port as of Dec 28 this year, a yearly uptick of 25 percent, according to statistics from Ningbo Customs.

The figure also represented an anverage annual growth of 78.7 percent since 2009 when the model was first introduced.

The sea-rail combined transport model refers to the mechanism where goods are first loaded onto trains to Ningbo before being transported overseas by sea, and vice versa.

This year, the port introduced freight trains to cities such as Haian in Jiangsu province and Huaibei in Anhui province, and in November, it was approved by the Ministry of Transportation to use double-deck containers in sea-rail combined transportation on a trial basis. 

In August, the Ningbo Zhoushan Port launched less-than-container loads (LCL) services to Chongqing, which allows multiple customers within the city to share the same container, reducing logistical costs.

In April, the Chuangshan port area was also linked to the railway, which has greatly improved sea-rail transportation efficiency. 

To date, the port has launched 19 freight train routes to 56 cities in 15 provinces and municipalities across the nation.