China / Europe trade helped by rail services

The rapid growth of rail services between China and Europe is opening-up new trading opportunities in both the East and the West. 

A new China-Europe freight train service linking southwest China's Chengdu City with Vienna, capital of Austria, is launched on April 12, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

That’s according to specialist publication Fresh Plaza, who focus on Sichuan Kang Yuan Agricultural Products Co., Ltd. 

The company is preparing to send its first shipment of fresh limes to Europe – an opportunity that might not have been possible before train services offered fast transport at a more affordable price than air freight.

Apparently, their limes will sell for nearly double the price in Europe (even accounting for transport costs) than in the local market.

There’s been an astonishing growth in the number of train services between China and Europe over the course of the last year.

Apparently, there were 75 percent more trains in the first quarter of this year, when compared to 2017.

For regular readers, that news won’t come as a surprise.

As we’ve reported over the last few weeks, ten years ago, there were no direct train services linking Chinese and European cities. Now, there are 34 cities in Europe and 35 in China linked by such routes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative has been widely credited with having been the driving force behind the phenomenal growth of the rail freight connections over the last decade.