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1st LD Writethru: Harbin-Europe freight trains heaving in first half year

Xinhua, January 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cargo trains between Europe and Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, have transported 87 million U.S. dollars worth of goods in the half year since the service was launched.

The trains have carried more than 1,300 containers since the first service set off on June 13 from Harbin, reaching the German city of Hamburg via Russia and Poland, said the Harbin government on Monday.

"Beer from Germany, ham from Spain, pizza from Italy as well as industrial products and daily necessities have become more accessible to ordinary Chinese," said Cheng Yao, vice head of the economic research institute of the Heilongjiang provincial academy of social sciences.

Taking 15 days, the 9,820-km journey is shorter than sea transportation and cheaper than flying. The trains transport goods from China, the Republic of Korea and Japan as well as European countries including Germany, Poland, France, Spain and Italy.

The freight is mostly electronic components and automobile parts, said Tu Xiaoyue, general manager of HAO Logistics, which runs the service.

Other Chinese cities including Chongqing, Chengdu, Changsha, Hefei, Yiwu and Suzhou have launched similar freight train services to Europe.

The freight train services between southwest China's Chengdu city to Lodz in Poland are expected to hit 300 journeys in 2016.

The Chengdu-Europe express railway service, which opened in April, 2013, has brought precision instruments, IT products, and clothes from China to Europe, and food and beverages from Europe, according to Chengdu port and logistics office.

Local officials also said that cargo train service departing from Chengdu will explore two new routes to connect with Germany and the Netherlands. Endi