In recent years, as the volume of transportation has decreased and the coal mine has been transformed into an enterprise and laid off staff accordingly. Just 37 members of staff have been kept for operation of the narrow-gauge railway. Only two trains run regularly on the 11.15-kilometer narrow gauge between the Sieving factory station and the Xinxingjing mine section. They run three to six times a day, and the annual transportation volume remains about 400,000 tons.

Compared with automobile transportation, narrow-gauge railway transportation boasts lower costs and a higher guarantee of safety. "At present, it is the last narrow-gauge railway in operation in Hunan province.