China-Europe freight train service growing under BRI

FE Team | Published: September 04, 2018 22:21:05

The China-Europe freight train service carrying containers from both ends is gaining popularity as China has made direct rail service a major feature of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) encouraging other BRI countries to follow suit, officials said, reports UNB.
"Some 1400 cargo trains departed from Urumqi to European destinations since the introduction of this service back in 2016," Deputy Manager of China-Europe Cargo Train Realignment Centre Nan Jun said.
He said this service that connected European countries and 42 cities helped reduce cost and time benefiting all those connected with the service.
The China-Europe freight trains carry containers of auto parts, engineering equipment, and daily essentials leave Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The train will travel through Xinjiang's Alataw Pass and stop at a port in Kazakhstan where the containers will be transferred to ships which are bound for Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
"We're trying to improve the efficiency of the cargo train service to further cut the cost and time making the service smoother," Nan Jun said.
A study commissioned by the International Union of Railways estimates that China-Europe rail service could double their share of trade by volume over the next decade.
Barely a decade ago, officials said, regular direct freight service from China to Europe did not exist but today they can connect some 35 Chinese cities with 34 European ones.
Rail service is considerably cheaper than air's, and faster than water's, they said.
Carriers on air, rail, road and waterways carried a total of 27.54 billion tonnes of cargo in the first seven months, up 6.8 percent year on year, according to data of the Chinese government.
The sixth China-Eurasia Expo that ended in Urumqi, the northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on September 1, witnessed deals worth around $ 39.66 bn, according to Chinese government data.
Chemical engineering, energy and environmental protection, culture and tourism, new material and others were the areas where cooperation deals were signed during the three-day expo.
On the other hand, 25 major companies from Xinjiang have signed 29 agreements with companies from 13 countries along the Belt and Road, which are worth 10.48 billion yuan.
Participants from 35 countries and regions attended the expo with a total of 704 companies, including 27 corporations on the Fortune Global 500.
The previous expo saw $ 18 billion worth of contracts signed between Chines and foreign companies.