At 10:30 on June 10, No 71501 12,000-ton freight train, consisting of 106 loaded wagons, departed at Changzi South Station on Watang-Rizhao Railway. Since then, China Railway Zhengzhou Group Co., Ltd. has operated 12,000-ton heavy-haul trains in 203 trips on Watang-Rizhao Railway within two months.
Originated from Watang Town in Xingxian County, Shanxi in the west and terminating at Rizhao City, Shandong in the east, Watang-Rizhao Railway is China's first heavy-haul railway for 30-ton axle-load vehicles that was constructed in one phase and is also an important coal transport corridor connecting the east and west China. Consisting of 96 wagons, the 10,000-ton heavy-haul train has a load capacity equivalent to more than 2 times that of ordinary freight trains. On January 17, 2018, China Railway Zhengzhou Group Co., Ltd. successfully operated a 10,000-ton heavy-haul train for the first time on Watang-Rizhao Railway, and on April 11, operated another 12,000-ton heavy-haul train consisting of 106 wagons successfully. Compared with 10,000-ton heavy-haul trains, 12,000-ton heavy-haul trains have transported 406,000 tons more coal in the two months' operation.
