Hunan-Europe freight transport rail to open soon

The map shows the freight transport rail links from Changsha to Germany, Russia, and Kazakhstan. [Map from rednet.cn]

The first international freight train from Hunan province to Europe, the Hunan-Europe Express Line, will start operations on Oct 30, Changsha Evening News reported, citing news from a marketing promotion of the international rail line. By then, it will take only 18 days for Hunan goods to be exported to Germany.

According to a principal of the Changsha Freight Center of the Guangzhou Railway Group, the overall planning of this freight transport consists of one main line and two subordinate lines. The main line runs from Changsha, capital of Hunan province in Central China, to Duisburg in Germany.

Trains will depart China through Alashankou in Xinjiang, passing through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and Germany. It will take 18 days to finish the whole journey, and cover a total of 11,808 kilometers. The first train to transport cargo from Changsha to Duisburg will set off on Oct 30.

The two subordinates bound for Moscow, Russia and Tashkent, Uzbekistan are due to start in late November. The express trains will run every 10 days in 2015 on a regular basis.

At present, goods transported from Changsha to Europe are mainly carried by ocean shipping, which usually takes two months. Urgent cargos can only choose air freight, which is fast but too expensive.

The opening of the Hunan-Europe Express Line provides a new choice other than the low-cost but slow shipping or fast but expensive air transport.

More importantly, there are market needs. The annual volume of trade between Hunan and the European Union, as well as Hunan and Russia, exceeds $4 billion. The EU has been Hunan's largest trade partner for years. In 2013, cargo transported between the two areas reached 70,000 TEU.