The freight train that departed from Spain bound for China on January 29 has arrived at its destination in China carrying a shipment of Spanish wine, olive oil, and ham, among other products. The train, loaded with 64 containers, took 24 days to cover the more than 13,000 kilometers of the Yixinou route, the world’s longest railway line. The official Xinhua news agency reported that the 64 containers have arrived in the eastern city of Yiwu.
The train, which took three days longer on the return trip than on the outbound leg, completed its journey right in the middle of the Lunar New Year holiday, the Asian giant’s most important festival. Now its cargo will be distributed primarily in the Yangtze River Delta, one of the most prosperous regions of the world’s second-largest economy; in Shanghai and the eastern provinces of Zhejiang (in cities such as Yiwu and Hangzhou) and Jiangsu (in cities such as Nanjing and Suzhou).
The company behind the project had expected the train to arrive last week, in time to supply Spanish products for the Chinese New Year celebrations. However, its departure from Madrid had to wait for the arrival from Germany of special containers equipped with heating systems—necessary due to the nature of the cargo—to prevent the freezing temperatures in the areas it would pass through from damaging the goods before they reached their destination.
On the outbound trip, the train departed from Yiwu on November 18 and arrived in the Spanish capital on December 9 after a 21-day journey, with time to distribute the Christmas items it was carrying to Chinese markets. To reach Yiwu, the train traveled through Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, and China.
The train's destination city is considered the world's largest center for the production and distribution of goods, and in 2014 it recorded a total import and export volume of 148.6 billion yuan (21.2 billion euros).
Through this initiative, the company behind the project sought to explore new ways to boost freight transport between China and Europe by using rail as an alternative, since until now Yiwu had relied primarily on air and sea transport.
The promoters of the Yixinou route point out that rail travel is slower than air travel but much cheaper, and it saves a significant amount of time compared to sea routes, which are less expensive.
