Zhejiang-Europe freight trains average 10 daily Spring Festival trips

Freight train X8188 departs from Yiwu on Feb 21. [Photo/Tide News]

The Zhejiang-Europe freight service has operated an average of more than 10 trains per day since Feb 15, reflecting sustained trade demand and logistics activity.

Train X8188, which departed from Yiwuxi Railway Station on Feb 21, is loaded with 110 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of toys, motors, and other goods bound for Duisburg, Germany.

The journey from Yiwu to Duisburg spans over 11,000 kilometers and requires relays by more than 40 Chinese and foreign drivers. As the first driver on the Yiwu section, Huang Wei conducts more than 20 signal checks along the route to ensure operational safety.

Huang was also in the cab on Nov 18, 2014, when the first Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe freight service was launched. Over the past 11 years, he has witnessed the service expand from 23 trips in its first year to more than 3,000 annually, with routes increasing from one to 26.

The Zhejiang-Europe freight train network currently spans over 160 cities in 50 countries across Eurasia.