China Railway Express to Europe
The launch of a rail freight service from the Chinese city Chongqing via the Alashankou border crossing in Xinjiang through Central Asia to Europe in March 2011 ushered in a new era for freight on rail as an alternative to shipping by sea or air. China-Europe rail cargo transport has subsequently gained rapid traction, fueled by the rollout of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The importance of China’s rail link to Europe was highlighted in a white paper issued by the Chinese government in March 2015 entitled Joining Hands to Build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road – Vision and Actions. The name “China Railway Express” was formally introduced on June 8, 2016, for all Europe-bound trains.
There are currently 40 service lines running through Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Northeast border crossings to destinations in Central Asia, Russia, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe. With the launch of the Yiwu-London line in January 2017, the trans-Eurasian network now extends to 15 cities in 10 European countries. A total of 1,702 trains made the trans-continental voyage between China and Europe in 2016, up 109 percent from a year before.
The “China Railway Express” service, seen as the “Belt and Road on rail,” helps boost connectivity between China and the rest of Eurasia. An interconnected network has begun to replace uncoordinated individual cargo lines. In addition to offering freight transport solutions, it contributes to flows of global investment, resources, technology and skilled personnel, and facilitates global cross-sector collaboration.
中歐班列
2011年3月，自重慶出發的首趟中歐班列從新疆阿拉山口口岸出境，標志著鐵路開始成為海運、空運之外連接亞歐大陸的第三條運輸大道。此后，在“一帶一路”倡議的推動下，中歐班列進入高速發展期。2015年3月中國發布的《推動共建絲綢之路經濟帶和21世紀海上絲綢之路愿景與行動》明確將中歐班列建設列為國家發展重點。2016年6月8日起，中國鐵路正式啟用“中歐班列”統一品牌。目前，40條中歐班列線經新疆、內蒙、東北三個方向出境，通往中亞、俄羅斯、中東歐、西歐等地。隨著義烏至倫敦線于2017年1月開通，“中歐班列”的開行范圍已覆蓋歐洲10個國家的15個城市。據統計，2016年，中國共開行“中歐班列”1702列、同比增長109%。中歐班列作為“鐵軌上的‘一帶一路’”，推進了中國與沿線國家的互聯互通，它不再只是一條條開放的線段，而是已形成一張開放的網絡；它不僅發揮著貨物運輸通道的功能，而將承擔更多的使命：吸納全球資金、資源、技術、人才等產業要素，發揮全球產業銜接功能。
