China-Europe freight train hub Chongqing sees surging trips in 2020

The land-sea freight train of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor heading for Indonesia waits to depart in southwest China's Chongqing, April 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)

Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, a major hub for China-Europe freight trains, saw 2,603 trips in 2020, up 72 percent year on year.

The Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) railway, which is the first China-Europe freight train route, was put into operation in March 2011, marking an important milestone in advancing China's Belt and Road initiative.

Data from Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics Co., Ltd., the local operator of the freight trains, showed the trains transported goods worth more than 90 billion yuan (around 14 billion U.S. dollars) in total in 2020, up 65 percent year on year.

Since its launch, the Yuxinou route has seen over 7,000 freight train trips, ranking top in the country.

Qi Dan, general manager of the Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics, said the route has served as a "green channel" for transporting international emergency supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 2.7 billion yuan of medical supplies and basic necessities transported in 2020.

The company launched a special train for B2B export in cross-border e-commerce last year, and set up seven new routes connecting Chongqing and European cities, Qi noted.