Europe express on track to be vital hub

TERMINAL STATION of the Chengdu CR Express in Lodz, Poland. WANG XIAO / FOR CHINA DAILY

Chengdu, a mega city in western China, is upgrading into a world-class transport hub to fulfi l its new target of becoming a national central city.

On Nov 2, a new weekly freight train set off to travel from Chengdu to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, expanding the Chengdu-Europe Express Rail into western Europe. A one-way trip takes about 13 days.

“Chengdu was connected to the Netherlands by the Chengdu- Amsterdam non-stop air route 10 years ago, which was the fi rst nonstop route between Europe and western China,” said Maxime Verhagen, former Dutch deputy prime minister and minister of economic aff airs, at the 16th Western China International Fair held in Chengdu earlier this month.

“The launch of the express rail to Rotterdam will further strengthen ties between Europe and China and boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation,” he said.

The Chengdu-Europe Express Rail was one of the first freight train routes between China and Europe. It began operations in April 2013, in line with the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The route stretches 9,826 kilometers and links Chengdu with Lodz, an emerging European logistics transit hub in Poland.

In June, the express rail, as well as other express rail services between China and Europe, was put under the unifi ed brand for China-Europe freight lines, the China Railway Express.

The Chengdu-Lodz route is the fastest and most frequently used direct freight service from China to Europe. A one-way trip takes 10 days, according to Chen Zhongwei, director of Chengdu port and logistics offi ce.

“The express rail gives Chengdu an advantage over eastern coastal cities when it comes to trading with Europe, because it is much faster than sea transport,” Chen said, adding that the city has transformed itself from being a typical inland city into a leader in the opening-up of western China.

The express rail takes one-third of the travel time needed by sea transport, and costs one-eighth to one-sixth of air transport.

To take full advantage of this rail route, Chengdu launched the Chengdu-Europe Plus strategy in 2015, which refers to increased rail connections with both domestic and European cities, making Chengdu a logistics hub for facilitating trade with Europe and pan- Asia.

Apart from Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the Chengdu-Lodz route has expanded to cities such as Kutno in Poland, Nuremberg in Germany, and Tilburg in the Netherlands.

Chengdu is also setting up offices and distribution centers in major European cities along the route to further explore the European market, Chen said.

According to the latest Chengdu- Europe Plus strategy, the city will operate two more cargo rail routes to Europe — one to Istanbul in Turkey and another to Russia.

The city launched a test train to Istanbul, Turkey, on Sept 6. The route is expected to cover the southern European market.

“We have run three test trains to Istanbul. We expect the route to start offi cial operation by the end of this year,” Chen said.

He said the third link, the Chengdu- Russia route, is scheduled to open this month.

The Chengdu-Europe Express Rail has expanded to domestic cities, including Xiamen, Shenzhen, Kunming and Ningbo.

The rail is also expected to cover the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Economic Rim, and will help to facilitate trade with China’s Hong Kong and Macao, as well as Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN countries in the near future.

He said business through the Chengdu-Europe Express Rail is surging thanks to the Chengdu- Europe Plus strategy.

An increasing number of companies in provinces around Chengdu, and even those in the eastern coastal cities, are using the express rail. These companies include DHL, Lenovo, TCL, Philips, Dell and Volvo.

“The express rail ran 103 journeys last year, and the number is expected to surge to 400 this year,” Chen said.

Chen is confident that once the routes to Istanbul and Russia are in full use, the express rail will be able to run 1,000 journeys next year.

The express rail is also attracting more investment to Chengdu.

The electronics multinational TCL is scheduled to add 800,000 TV sets of production capacity to its factory in Chengdu by the end of next year, making the city its major manufacturing base for TVs sold in Europe.

During the 16th Western China International Fair, four investment projects worth 2.1 billion yuan ($310 million) were signed that will be located in the Chengdu International Railway Port, the departure station for the Chengdu-Europe Express Rail.

Contact the writer at zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn