According to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Railway") on the 2nd, at 18:35 on July 1, the X9043 China-Europe freight train fully loaded with daily necessities, automobiles and parts and other goods departed from Xi'an International Port Station. It will exit through the Horgos railway port, pass through Kazakhstan, cross the Caspian Sea and arrive in Baku, Azerbaijan. Thereafter, the train will operate on a normalized and stable basis with one train per day.

A person in charge of the Freight Department of China Railway introduced that China Railway is accelerating the high-quality development of China-Europe freight trains and actively participating in the construction of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor. With the railway departments of the countries along the route, further consensus has been reached on the transport of Trans-Caspian China-Europe freight trains in aspects such as transport organization, customs inspection, information sharing, rail-sea combined transport and safety assurance, forming a stable operating route and relatively favorable freight rates, and possessing the conditions for normalized operation.

At 18:35 on July 1, the X9043 China-Europe freight train departed from Xi'an International Port Station, marking the normalized operation of the Trans-Caspian China-Europe freight train. Photo by Teng Qinpu

It is understood that starting from July 1, 2024, China Railway will operate the China-Europe freight train from Xi'an, China to Baku, Azerbaijan on a normalized basis at a frequency of "one train per day." The train exits through the Horgos railway port station, passes through Kazakhstan, crosses the Caspian Sea and reaches Baku, Azerbaijan, with a total transport time of about 12 days.

The person in charge stated that the normalized operation of the Trans-Caspian China-Europe freight train has further improved the overseas corridor network pattern of China-Europe freight trains featuring "smooth and efficient, multi-directional extension, and sea-land interconnection," provided more choices for foreign trade transport for domestic and foreign customers, and will inject new momentum into promoting economic and trade exchanges between China and Europe as well as countries along the route and serving high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.