First direct London-China train completes 12,000km run

A train carrying containers from London arrives at the freight railway station in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China, April 29, 2017. The sign at the front of the train reads: "First Sino-Euro Freight Train (London Yiwu). REUTERS/Thomas Peter
First direct London-China train completes 12,000km run

BEIJING // Laden with whisky and baby milk, the first freight train linking China directly to the UK arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu on Saturday after a 12,000-kilometre trip, becoming the world’s second-longest rail route.

The journey is the latest effort in China’s drive to strengthen trade links with western Europe along a modern-day "Silk Road" route.

"The train arrived at around 9.30am (local time) to Yiwu on Saturday," said the Yiwu Tianmeng Industry Company.

The world’s top trading nation launched the "One Belt, One Road" strategy in 2013, and has since poured millions into constructing vast infrastructure links.

The train – which was also carrying pharmaceuticals and machinery – departed London on April 10 and passed through France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan during its 20-day trip before arriving in Yiwu, in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, on Saturday. The city is a major wholesale centre for small consumer goods.

The new route is longer than Russia’s famous Trans-Siberian railway, but about 1,000 kilometres shorter than the record-holding China-Madrid link, which opened in 2014.

* Agence France-Presse

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