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First train from China arrives in Poland

07.01.2020 08:30
The first freight train from China has arrived in Sławków, southern Poland.
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The train comprising 45 containers set off from Xi'an, located in the central part of China, on December 24.

After travelling nearly 9,500 kilometres over 12 days, the train reached the final station of Sławków on Sunday. The station is the westernmost location in Europe which can be reached by a wide-gauge railway track from the east.

There the containers are to be reloaded onto railway wagons and cars and delivered to target customers.

The launch of the connection from China to Sławków is the result of several years of work on the project.

Its initiators hope that the establishment of cooperation between the Polish operator of the broad-gauge line, PKP LHS, and Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation, alongside logistics partners from Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, will enable the launch of regular connections from Xi'an to Sławków.

Trains with containers are to reach their final destination in ten to 12 days - much faster than by sea.

PKP LHS officials said that the choice of a broad-gauge line was determined, among other things, by the lack of need to reload goods at the border of the European Union, the possibility of running the longest freight trains in Europe - with a length of up to 950 metres, and the reloading potential of the Sławków Euroterminal.

The station is a logistic hub with great potential for further distribution of cargo from China, said Dariusz Sikora of PKP LHS.

Sikora said that Sławków "is also the beginning of the Trans-Caspian international transport route, which offers a convenient opportunity to export food.”

He added: “I am convinced that both routes will play an important role in the development of rail transport on the New Silk Road.”

Xi'an is the fastest growing inland port and logistics centre on the New Silk Road.

(aba/pk)

Source: Forsal, Rzeczpospolita