Cargo volumes on China’s railway network grew 7.8 per cent year-on-year to 2.6bn tonnes in the first eight months of 2011.

Some 1.49bn tonnes of coal were transported between January and August, 12.8 per cent more than in the same period last year. The railways also carried 90.15m tonnes of crude oil, 62.62m tonnes of grains and 57.5m tonnes of fertiliser and farm chemicals during the period.