A freight train -- carrying 44 containers loaded with chemical raw materials, agricultural machinery equipment and medical goods produced in Wuhan city and surrounding areas totaling 822 tons -- departed from the capital of Central China’s Hubei province on June 16 bound for Ukraine, marking the launch of an important new train service.
Local rail official said the China-Europe freight train will arrive in Ukraine’s capital city Kiev in 15 days.
It is running on a new international line that was developed by the China-Europe freight train (Wuhan) service -- after the launch of a special freight train service transporting anti-novel coronavirus supplies to Belgrade on May 9.
Ukraine is one of China's important strategic partners. The two countries established a comprehensive cooperative relationship in 2001 and jointly announced the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2011.
Kiev is the capital of Ukraine and the economic, cultural, and political center of the country. In 1990, Kiev and Wuhan became sister cities.
Officials said the launch of the Wuhan-Kiev freight train service is expected to further narrow the distance between the two sister cities in terms of space, promote the China-Europe freight train (Wuhan) to spread throughout Eastern Europe and help with Wuhan's internationalization.
They said that as of June 14, the China-Europe freight train (Wuhan) had made 93 trips, covering nearly 80 cities in 34 countries in Asia and Europe.
