Train marking 10th anniversary of China-Europe freight service sets off from Chengdu

A train marking the 10th anniversary of Chengdu's China-Europe freight service and the first train custom-made for DPD, a subsidiary of French postal service company La Poste, sets off from Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Party ommittee of Qingbaijiang district, Chengdu) 

A launch ceremony was held on April 26 for a train for the 10th anniversary of Chengdu's China-Europe freight service and the first train custom-made for DPD, a subsidiary of French postal service company La Poste, at the Chengdu International Railway Port in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Following the launch, the train loaded with home appliances, digital products, tailor-made clothes, and other goods of cross-border e-commerce businesses, embarked on its first trip from Chengdu International Railway Port to Europe.

The trip marks the first time DPD has used a China-Europe freight train, instead of an airplane, to transport goods. Compared to air freight, China-Europe freight trains have greater capacity and lower costs.

The train is a seamless connection and stable and controllable operation during the transportation process, and can arrive in Malaszewicze, Poland in 10 days, and distribute goods in Europe in four days thanks to a model developed by the Chengdu freight train operator that features fixed stations, routes, train numbers, schedules, and prices.

Since Chengdu launched the China-Europe freight service 10 years ago, an international transportation network, with international railway corridors and rail-sea intermodal corridors, has taken shape, connecting 100 foreign cities and 30 Chinese cities.

More than 22,000 international train trips have been made through the network, serving more than 15,000 companies. The international railway transportation service represents an important practice of China's central and western regions in global cooperation, and the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.