The China-Europe Railway Express completed its 130,000th trip last Saturday, with total goods value exceeding $520 billion, the China State Railway Group said. Train X8037 departed Zhengzhou Putian Station for Hamburg, Germany.
The service links 129 Chinese cities with 235 cities in 26 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. It operates 93 scheduled routes at speeds up to 120 kilometers per hour.
Maximum cars per train have risen to 55, with traction capacity at 3,000 metric tons. Outbound and return trips run in balance, and container loading stays at 100 percent. Twenty-two weekly scheduled trains serve nine Chinese and six European cities.
By the end of April these trains had completed more than 1,700 trips. Average value per container grew 41 percent, while freight rates fell over 40 percent since launch. The rail carries more than 50,000 types of goods in 53 categories.