Tracks to continent help boost development prospects in inland cities

Seven years ago, companies in the inland city of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, either had to send products to nearby coastal ports to be shipped, or reserve space on expensive air cargo flights if they wanted to export to Europe.

Now, new rail freight services have become the favored option, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as global shipping capacity and air traffic have been greatly reduced, according to Kang Yan, deputy general manager of Zhengzhou International Hub Development and Construction Co.

The freight train service from Zhengzhou to Europe was launched in 2013, with one journey a month made to the northern port city of Hamburg, Germany. In recent years, services between Zhengzhou and Europe have grown rapidly, with some 120 trips made on average each month.

Three main European routes operate from Zhengzhou－to Hamburg and Munich in Germany, and Liege in Belgium.

A total of 13 logistics centers have been established by Zhengzhou International Hub Development and Construction Co in countries including France, Italy, Poland and Hungary. The centers will help distribute goods transported by rail to Hamburg, Munich and Liege throughout the European Union, using other modes of transportation.

Zhengzhou also operates rail freight routes to Moscow, the Russian capital, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, and the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.

Kang said it takes more than 25 days to transport goods from Zhengzhou to Europe by sea, and seven days by air, so rail freight, which takes 14 to 16 days, is the ideal intermediate option.