China launches freight train service connecting Europe

BEIJING: China today launched a freight train service between its northeastern city of Harbin and Europe, opening a new trade route to Europe covering a distance of nearly 10,000 kms.

The train left Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, carrying 49 containers of domestic goods such as electronic products and auto parts worth $3 million from northeast and north China, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

During the 9,820-km-long travel, the train will pass Russia and Poland before reaching its destination of Hamburg, Germany, said Tu Xiaoyue, general manager of HAO Logistics Co., Ltd, a joint venture, which runs the service.

The train will run once a week and each single trip will take 15 days. It will transport goods from China, the Republic of Korea and Japan as well as European countries such as Germany, Poland, France, Spain and Italy.


Several Chinese cities, including Chongqing, Chengdu, Changsha, Hefei, Yiwu and Suzhou, have launched similar freight train services to Europe.