The 75022 train, Shanxi province's first train to central Asia, departs Zhongding Logistics Park, the provincial logistics hub in Taiyuan, for Kazakhstan on Sept 30. [Photo/tywbw.com]

The 75022 train, Shanxi province's first train to central Asia, departed Zhongding Logistics Park in Taiyuan, the provincial logistics hub, for Kazakhstan on Sept 30, developing a new international logistics channel.

Launched by Taiyuan Railway Bureau under the Belt and Road Initiative, the train aimed to help Shanxi businesses expand international economic cooperation and further foreign trade.

The train, loaded with Shanxi-made machinery, will travel some 3,700 kilometers to Pavlodar in Kazakhstan, arriving approximately 7 days after departure –– which is nearly 15 days prior to what it was before, helping Shanxi companies accelerate the circulation of funds. The exports were put in 44 containers carried in the train's 41 cars.

The advantages in cost performance have attracted many Shanxi companies, according to Shanxi Zhongding Logistics Group. One or two more runs of the train to central Asia are expected to be scheduled by the end of 2017.