Cold-chain freight train service links Xi'an, Moscow

XI'AN, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A batch of imports of Russian meat products, transported by a cold-chain train, was cleared on Monday at the customs in Xi'an, the capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The train service not only signified a resumption of imports via the cold-chain China-Europe freight train service coded Chang'an, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic but also the first of the service linking Moscow and Xi'an, said Zhao Jia, of the Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd.

The batch of 180 tonnes of Russian meat products included beef and chicken wings. Zhao is the manager responsible for the company's cargo logistics service with Russia, and he expects a regular operation of the cold-chain service on the route.

The Chang'an China-Europe freight train service can transport frozen food, fresh vegetables and fruits, candy, and aquatic products, as well as cosmetics, chemicals, and electronic products with precise temperature requirements.

It used to take about 45 days for the imports from Moscow to arrive in Xi'an via marine shipping but the train service passing through the Alataw Pass in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region takes 12 to 15 days while saving the logistics cost by about 10 percent.