(Yicai Global) March 8 --  China's eastern Yangtze River Delta, one of the most economically  developed regions in the country, should upgrade cooperation between its  rail and port networks, a dean of the Shanghai Academy of Science and  Technology said.

The government should  encourage harbor and locomotive groups to jointly invest in container  yards, and set up a department to regulate these types of transport  operators, Cao Aming told Yicai Global during the ongoing Two Sessions annual political meeting. 

Rail cargo will reduce  carbon emissions and greatly increase transport volume, Cao said.  However, such routes don't exist in some northern areas of Jiangsu  province, northern and southern parts of Anhui province and Zhejiang  province, he said.

The handling capacity of  ports in the Yangtze River Delta ranks among global top harbors, but the  region depends on fuel-powered cargo trucks as rail transport makes up  less than 3 percent of the total, much below the country's average. 

With a better network,  overseas goods can be quickly transported to the eastern provinces by  rail after being unloaded at the port of Shanghai, Cao said.

Editor: Emmi Laine