Cargo Train Linking China And Kazakhstan Begins Service

A cargo train that links China and Kazakhstan. Photo courtesy of Xinhua/Geng Yuhe.

China has begun a cargo train service that links its eastern port city of Lianyungang in the Jiangsu Province and Kazakhstan’s largest city and its financial hub, Almaty, the Global Times reports.

The railway will be a new path for goods from central Asian countries for global shipment and will be a boost to the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB).

The debut service began on February 25 when the first train pulled out of a logistics terminal that was jointly built by China and Kazakhstan in Lianyungang City.

The first train of nearly 100 containers left Lianyungang on Wednesday and is expected to arrive in Almaty in 12 days.

Two trains will depart from China each week carrying electronic products, auto parts, and medical supplies, and two trains will depart from Kazakhstan each week carrying ferro-alloy, potash fertilizer, and wheat, according to Liu Bin, the general manager of China-Kazakhstan logistics international.

“The transportation time and cost can both be reduced by the cargo train, which will boost the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and the economies of the countries along the belt,” Liu said.

Regular cargo train services that link China with other countries are already in operation. Last November, a cargo train service that links the eastern city of Yiwu, the world’s largest wholesale market for small consumer goods, with Madrid in Spain began service.

The railway from China to Spain spans 16,156 miles on a round trip journey and is the world’s longest railway.