China's Shanxi launches its first China-Europe freight train service to Spain

Aerial photo taken on May 12, 2022 shows freight trains at a maintenance base in Datong, north China's Shanxi Province. (Xinhua/Cao Yang)

TAIYUAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- A fully loaded China-Europe freight train on Monday arrived in Madrid, Spain, the first such train from north China's Shanxi Province to reach Spain.

Cargo on board consisted of cross-border e-commerce goods from Shanxi, including canned products, train wheel sets and mechanical parts. The cargo was packed in a total of 55 containers and weighed 925 tonnes.

This batch of cargo left Shanxi on Sept. 16, traveling through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France before arriving in Madrid. The journey covered an approximate total distance of 12,000 kilometers.

By August, Shanxi Province had handled 700 China-Europe freight train trips since its first such service was launched in 2017, according to local authorities. The province has currently launched 15 China-Europe freight train and China-Central Asia freight train routes linking 16 countries.