The first freight train from China to the UK has arrived at its destination of Barking in East London.
[Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]
The train, which began its 12,451km journey on January 1, 2017 from the city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province, is jointly operated by the Yiwu government and China Railway Container Transport Corp., Ltd., a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway Corporation. On the way, it passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before crossing the English Channel to DB Cargo UK’s London Eurohub terminal at Barking.
According to China Railway, goods carried on the train’s 68 containers include household commodities, apparel, textiles and suitcases.
“The launch of this train will change trade between China and the UK,” said Xu Bin Feng, chairman of Yiwu’s Timex Industrial Investment Co., Ltd. “This overland transport option offers an alternative to air and sea transport.”
He added that the transit time using the train is a month shorter than by ship, while costs are approximately a fifth of air freight.
London is the 15th European city to be served by Chinese freight trains, according to China Railway.
