Xiamen launches 100 cargo trains to Europe in 2020

A cargo train carrying 398 tons of electromechanical products, clothing, shoes, hats and anti-epidemic supplies departed from Xiamen, Fujian province for Hamburg, Germany on May 9, Fujian Daily reported.

It is the 100th China-Europe train to leave the city since the beginning of 2020 and the 644th since Xiamen introduced the China-Europe freight service on Aug 16, 2015.

The train will leave the country via the Alashankou Port in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and travel through Malaszewicze in Poland and the western German city of Duisburg before arriving at its destination.

Freight train services linking Xiamen with Europe are becoming increasingly popular with traders on both sides, as commercial activities of shipping companies and airlines are suspended or restricted due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the city's customs.

Early this year, the city adjusted the schedule from six trains per week to nine per week, with the number of cars per train increasing from 38 to 50 . 

To date, Xiamen has transported 9,094 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo valued at $359 million to Europe by rail, up 143 percent and 157 percent year on year.