A new 9,900 km railway cargo route linking Shenzhen with the Belarus capital of Minsk has been inaugurated. A train with 41 containers, packed with Chinese products from mobile phones to car parts, is expected to take two weeks to reach Minsk via Central Asia. Chinese cities are jockeying to launch “direct cargo trains” to Europe to support President Xi Jinping’s ambitious “Belt and Road Initiative”. The inland city of Chongqing now has a regular rail cargo service to Duisburg in Germany, and the export hub of Yiwu in eastern China has similar services to London and Madrid. According to state-owned rail operator China Railway, 29 Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, have launched direct freight lines to Europe, although most routes are along the same track. China Brilliant Group is a key backer of the new Shenzhen-Minsk freight link. As part of a joint venture with German logistics firm DHL, China Brilliant had invested CNY80 million into building warehouses along the route, training staff, and upgrading surveillance. Before the opening of the new link, many electronics firms in Shenzhen had been forced to send their shipments to Yiwu for forwarding to Europe because Shenzhen lacked a direct link with the continent. There will be one westbound train service a week, and a return service will start in June. Eventually, the service might be extended to Hamburg in Germany. DHL Greater China Chief Executive Steve Huang said China’s belt and road plan also offered opportunities for companies to combine maritime and rail routes. He said transport by rail was faster than sea freight and cheaper than air cargo. A shipment usually takes more than a month to get from China to Europe by sea, the South China Morning Post reports.

A committee to coordinate freight rail services on the China Railway Express between China and Europe was launched in Beijing. 33 stakeholders are members of the committee. Measures to be taken include establishing transfer hubs to assemble container cars, launching an international information service, and opening hotline number 95306 for clients to check on their cargo. A cold container information center will also be launched.