Fastest cargo train linking China, Europe to add station

CHENGDU - A cargo train route that links Southwest China's Chengdu city with the Polish city of Lodz will add a new station in western Europe, it was announced Wednesday.

The candidate countries include France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, according to Chengdu officials who attended the third Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Riga, Latvia.

The 9,826-kilometer Chengdu-Lodz line, upon which travels the fastest freight train on the Eurasian continent, leaves China at the Alataw Pass in northwestern Xinjiang before passing through Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus on its way to Poland. From Lodz, cargo can reach any country in Europe within three days by rail or land.

As of April, the line has transported over 20,000 tons of cargo from China worth more than $600 million since it was opened in 2013.

Another regular cargo train linking Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to central Russia was launched in February.

A number of mainland cities -- including Chongqing in Southwest China; Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Changsha in Central China; and Shenyang in Northeast China -- have rail freight services to Europe.