Guo Yuhua, deputy director at China Railway Corporation (CRC), has stated at the National Coal Trade Fair held in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, that at present there is a shortage of around 100,000 open wagons for coal shipment on Chinese railways as China has not built any new open wagons for three years while some of its existing open wagons have been scrapped.
To ease the tight coal supply situation and stabilize coal prices in China, Mr. Guo stated that CRC has put 20,000 new flat cars into service in the current year to increase coal shipments and ensure supply. “CRC is planning to put another 20,000 flat cars or more into service to ensure supply in 2017, depending on fluctuations in demand in the market,” he added.