Chongqing - China has launched new weather products under its MAZU early warning system, short for Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap and Universal, to protect the China-Europe Railway Express. The move was announced by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) in Chongqing on Dec. 5.
A China-Europe Railway Express train loaded with Chongqing-made automobiles waits for departure at Tuanjiecun Railway Station on September 8, 2025. (Photo/Tang Yi)
The China-Europe Railway Express is a network of freight routes connecting China with Europe and Central Asia. Along the way, trains pass through sharply contrasting climate zones: fog-prone coastal ports, inland regions exposed to severe thunderstorms, Central Asian deserts where sandstorms are common, and northern segments where Siberian cold dramatically reduces visibility. Cargo faces parallel risks—fresh produce is vulnerable to rapid temperature swings, while precision electronics can malfunction after exposure to extreme heat or cold.
Liu Lihui, deputy manager of the operations center at Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics, which runs the Chongqing–Europe corridor, recalled frequent weather disruptions along the route. Heavy rainfall in Europe once damaged a bridge, and advance warnings allowed trains to halt before reaching the affected section. Winter snowfall across southern routes via the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus has repeatedly slowed services, while strong winds at key border hubs such as Alashankou and Dostyk often delay cargo transfers.
According to the National Meteorological Center, MAZU is built as a “cloud-plus-terminal” early warning system. Once adopted overseas, local meteorological agencies can input their own geographical and observational data to generate localized alerts, including cyclone or heavy rainfall warnings.
Before MAZU, weather services for China-Europe freight were fragmented and largely domestic in scope, said Sun Jiayi of the Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Bureau. Meteorological departments in departure hubs such as Yiwu, Lianyungang, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, and Xi’an had already created tools to support shippers, but these products were mainly used inside China and targeted Chinese cargo owners. Overseas clients could access some information, Sun said, but often only indirectly through Chinese partners.
“With this step, we are moving from only serving Chinese users to serving Belt and Road co-building countries,” Sun said. By integrating the transport safety service into the MAZU platform, the consortium has bundled its existing tools into a standardized package that can be deployed abroad. Once installed by local agencies, rail operators and cargo owners along the route can access the same 45-day global forecasts and product-specific risk models to evaluate when their cargo will pass through severe cold or other hazardous conditions—and adjust departure times or choose alternative services accordingly.
Sun added that through MAZU’s cloud-plus-terminal architecture, the same calendar and risk indicators can now be delivered directly to users in Russia, Central Asia, and other Belt and Road countries, instead of remaining confined within domestic systems.
MAZU was officially launched in July as part of the Joint Action for Early Warnings for All, aimed at building an early warning service network and sharing practical experience and technological achievements with global partners.
Over the past year, the China-Europe Railway Meteorological Service Consortium has accelerated efforts to integrate weather data into real-time decision-making for dispatchers, terminal managers, and shippers. In Chongqing—an inland logistics hub and a major departure point for China-Europe Railway Express trains—that integration is already taking shape.
Chongqing has linked its local smart meteorological platform with logistics dispatch systems, enabling major hubs to receive real-time, five-minute alerts and 0–30 day risk forecasts to support daily operations. The city has also introduced a weather-risk index for temperature-sensitive goods, using blood oranges from Yunyang County as a case study. By modeling how weather affects fruit quality, meteorologists help exporters better plan harvests, packaging, and temperature control along the 11,000-kilometer journey to overseas markets.
“These examples show that meteorology is closely connected to the safety and timing of international trains,” Liu said, adding that the company plans to make greater use of integrated warning systems to strengthen route planning and emergency responses.