State-owned China Railway Corporation has run as many as 11,000 cargo trains to Europe since 2011, marking another milestone for Beijing’s ambitions to boost trade and connectivity across Eurasia.
The Beijing-based company currently runs 65 China Railway Express freight routes that reach 15 countries in Europe and 14 in Asia, Han Xiao, deputy director of management and legal affairs bureau at China Railway Corporation, told a conference in Beijing on Saturday (Oct. 27).
The main routes include Chongqing to Duisburg, Zhengzhou to Hamburg, Suzhou to Warsaw, Yiwu to Madrid, Shenyang to Hamburg, Changsha to Hamburg, Daqing to Zeebrugge, Xiamen to Moscow, Nanjing to Moscow, and Tianjin to Minsk, he said according to China News Service.
Trains from China to Europe mainly carry mobile phones, computers, clothing, cosmetics and small commodities while trains back to China are loaded with car parts, machinery, food and liquors, electronics, and wood, among others.
Han said the China-Europe cargo train link offer the benefits of large volume, low freight rate and fast speed, cutting the transportation time to one-third compared to shipping by sea and slashing the cost to one-fifth compared air cargo.
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