The train service between Chongqing and Duisburg in Germany is twice as fast as transport on the sea route and only half as expensive as air freight. Therefore, the train connection, which the Chinese are already describing as the new Silk Road, has improved trade between China and Germany.

• Total length of 11,179 km.
• Going through six countries in about 16 days: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany.
• The first coordination meeting was held in Chongqing in November 2010.
• The first train on the railway to travel to Moscow arrived on Jan 28, 2011.
• The first train on the railway to travel to Duisburg, Germany, arrived on March 19, 2011.
• Regular train services on the railway started on June 30, 2011.
• The first return train on the railway left Duisbrug for China on February 28, 2013. It passed through Poland, Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan before arriving at in Chongqing.
• The first train on the railway not limited to carrying only IT products ran on April 8, 2014. It can carry all products to be exported to countries along the line and will transport products from regions around Chongqing to Europe.
• From the first train, which ran on January 28, 2011, to January 24, 2014, the railway has seen a total of 96 runs. During this time the trains transported 8,434 containers of exports worth USD3 billion, according to the Chongqing logistics office.
• The transcontinental railway between China and Germany is the first train connection between the two countries.
• Since it opened, the number of weekly departures has risen to three.
• Goods transported along the route include electronics, cars and medical equipment.
• One of the challenges will be to further increase the degree of capacity utilization of the train from Duisburg to Chongqing.