China Railway Express to launch courier services

China Railway Express Co (CRE) will launch express delivery services via high-speed rail in 20 cities including Beijing, Shenyang and Zhengzhou starting from Tuesday.

For same-day delivery, the charge for the first kilogram is set at 130 yuan ($21), which is 20 yuan cheaper than the same service offered by private courier SF Express, and 25 yuan per additional kilo, news portal cctv.com reported Sunday.

Customers need to book orders before 10 am, and the parcel could be delivered to the recipient at 10 pm the same day, the report said.

For next-day delivery, CRE's cost will be 17 yuan for the first kilo and 10 yuan per -additional kilo.

China's express delivery industry realized a revenue of 144.17 billion yuan ($23.21 billion) in 2013, according to the State Post Bureau.