In an effort to strengthen trade between the two countries President Xi Jinping has initiated the ‘Silk Road’ service.
Bloomberg reported that the trip to London will take 18 days and travel more than 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles) through Asia, Europe and the Channel Tunnel. The train left Yiwu on 1 January and is carrying “garments, bags and suitcases” amongst its cargo, and will be passing through “Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France.
London is the 15th European city to have trains direct from China, which is the result of Xi’s “Belt-and- Road initiative 2013”, which aimed to “create a modern Silk Road and boost commercial ties to markets across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe”. Although the train carries less than a large cargo ship, 200 containers as opposed to 20,000, the journey takes half the time.
This, the site noted, will make this a “competitive option” when sea shipments are delayed, and compared to air freight costs far less as flying costs twice as much according to Michael White, Operations Director at Brunel Shipping, which is involved in the service as the booking agent.