HARBIN Railway Bureau and Shenyang Railway Bureau, the two rail operators in northeast China, handled 326 million tons of cargo in the first eight months of the year, an increase of 7.8 per cent year on year, Xinhua reported.

The increase was equivalent to 23.7 million tons, far more than the expected increase of 16 million tons set at the beginning of the year, the report said.



Northeast China is an important base for energy, industry and food and there has been a great cargo transportation demand from the region to other parts of China, the report said.