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Freight train route links Heilongjiang, Belarus

Published : 05 Jun 2017, 11:41

Updated : 05 Jun 2017, 21:42

  DF-Xinhua Report
Photo taken on May 22, 2017 shows the first freight train of China Railway Express from the city of Shenzhen to European countries at Yantian Port in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. Freight train X8428, with a total travelling length of 9900 kilometers and bound for Minsk of Belarus, departed from Shenzhen's Yantian Port on Monday. File Photo.

A freight train route has been put into operation between northeast China's Heilongjiang Province and Belarus, taking around half the transportation time of the traditional sea route.

A train departed from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, earlier this month and will travel nearly 10,000 kilometers in around 16 days before reaching Minsk, capital of Belarus, according to Harbin government.

It is carrying 42 containers, mainly loaded with textiles and sanitary products. The train is expected to transport goods with high added value, such as electronics, in the future.

The route will help integrate Heilongjiang into the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

With the rapid expansion of China-Europe trade, cargo train services from Harbin began operation to Hamburg, Germany in 2015 and to Ekaterinburg, Russia last year. As of May, the trains have made 357 trips, carrying more than 18,000 containers.