Regular freight train route links China's Chongqing with Central Asia

A China-Central Asia freight train departs from the Tuanjiecun Station in southwest China's Chongqing, April 20, 2025. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

CHONGQING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A freight train, loaded with polyester chips made in southwest China's Chongqing, departed from the municipality on Sunday morning heading for Uzbekistan, marking the inauguration of a new regular freight train route from Chongqing to Central Asian countries.

The train is expected to arrive in the Uzbek capital roughly 4,700 kilometers away in about 12 days. It will exit China through Horgos Port in Xinjiang and pass through Kazakhstan.

According to the China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd. each month two trains are scheduled to start from Chongqing to Central Asia.

Xu Meiqiong, an engineer with the China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd., told Xinhua that such regular services could ensure fast customs clearance, timely transportation and reduced costs, so as to guarantee cross-border transportation of better quality.

An aerial drone photo taken on April 20, 2025 shows a China-Central Asia freight train departing from the Tuanjiecun Station in southwest China's Chongqing. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

It was believed that the regular train route could reduce the transportation duration between Chongqing and Central Asia by 30 percent.

Cargoes in the freight train on Sunday were from the Chongqing Wankai New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Lin Zheng, the company's manager in charge of logistics, noted that the launch of the new route would be good for them to expand their market in Central Asia.

In recent years, Chongqing has been striving to elevate itself into a comprehensive inland hub, with the number of China-Europe freight trains and those heading to Central Asian countries departing from the city, along with cargo volumes, growing.

As of February, more than 18,000 trains covering over 50 regular routes linking the city with European and Central Asian countries have been dispatched, reaching over 100 hub cities and regions across Asia and Europe.