China-Europe freight train departs for Minsk
![The first Tianjin-Minsk Freight train on its westward way to reach Europe. [people.cn]](https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/wcm.files/upload/CMSydylyw/201612/201612020352048.jpg "The first Tianjin-Minsk Freight train on its westward way to reach Europe. [people.cn]")
![The first Tianjin-Minsk Freight train on its westward way to reach Europe. [people.cn]](https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/wcm.files/upload/CMSydylyw/201612/201612020355004.jpg "The first Tianjin-Minsk Freight train on its westward way to reach Europe. [people.cn]")
The first Tianjin-Minsk freight train is now on its way to reach the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Loaded with goods sourced from the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone, the train departed from the Haitie Center Station of Dongjiang Port Area on November 21. The train will complete its virgin run on December 4, bringing a 13-day trans-border journey to an end in the China-Belarus Industrial Park.
Operating officials say the train is carrying 104 containers of construction materials to Minsk. On its way back it is expected to source an equivalent load of wood and food products from in and around Belarus.
Scheduled to operate 20 times per year, the Tianjin-Minsk freight train will carry an annual total of 30,000 tons of goods.
The Haitie Center Station of Dongjiang Port Area, which began operations on June 28, has so far harnessed 155 domestic freight trains with some 12,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) of goods from the Tianjin Polit Free Trade Zone.
The Tianjin government expects the launching of the China-Europe International Freight Service to further consolidate Dongjiang Port’s unique position as a meeting place of the Maritime Silk Road and the overland Silk Road. The service is also tasked with helping grow a wide array of businesses in and around the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
The freight train’s terminal end, the China-Belarus Industrial Park, is owned and operated by China Merchants Logistics Holding Co., Ltd. From its inception, the park has been taken seriously by leaders of both countries. Upgraded as an important pivot point in the Belt and Road Initiative, the park is equipped with multiple functions in warehousing, trade and exhibition services. The Tianjin-Minsk freight train, while linking the park with the biggest port in northernChina, will further transform the two countries’ trading pattern into a more comprehensive trading partnership.
China Merchants Logistics Holding Co., Ltd. has revealed plans to build a counterpart of the China-Belarus Industrial Park in the Tianjin Dongjiang Bonded Area.
