New China-Europe freight train service launched

HANGZHOU, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Loaded with 100 cargo containers, a China-Europe freight train left the city of Jinhua in east China's Zhejiang Province for Venlo in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

The departure marked the launch of the first China-Europe freight train from Zhejiang to the Netherlands, and also the departure of the 400th China-Europe freight train handled by Jinhua this year, said the China Railway Shanghai Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

The train, carrying motorcycles, vehicle brackets and other commodities worth 3.1 million U.S. dollars, is expected to arrive in the Dutch city after a journey of 22 days.

The train will return to Jinhua carrying Dutch-made goods such as newsprint, electronic instruments and medical equipment.

Jinhua launched the China-Europe freight train service in 2017. So far it has operated 22 China-Europe freight train routes, linking over 120 cities.

In the first half of this year, Jinhua saw a total of 368 inbound and outbound China-Europe freight trains, transporting 30,368 containers of goods, a year-on-year increase of 8 percent.