The Bay Area freight train arrives in Duisburg in 16 days

The Bay Area freight train arrives in Duisburg in 16 days, providing stable links between European countries and industrial centres in southern China

According to statistics from Shenzhen Customs, the China-Europe freight train “Bay Area” has made a total of 516 trips in the past three years, transporting 361,100 tonnes of goods with a cargo value of RMB 10.8 billion (USD 1.48 billion).

The Greater Bay Area (GBA) covers part of Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions in southern China at the mouth of the Pearl River into the South China Sea. With cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, the GBA includes some of China’s most economically powerful cities.

On 18 August 2020, the first train of “Bay Area” departed from Shenzhen Pinghu Logistics Hub to Duisburg, Germany. On 18 August this year, the “Bay Area” China-Europe freight train loaded with microwave ovens, electric ovens, electric sockets and other goods left for Central and Eastern Europe. The goods will arrive in Duisburg, Germany, in 16 days, saving about 15 days of transport time compared to traditional sea transport.

Over the past three years, the number of trips made by the China-Europe “Bay Area” freight train has increased year on year. The logistics service continues to expand, with routes covering Germany, France, Italy, Belarus and other 41 countries. It has become an important trade and transport corridor, closely linking the countries along the route with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area.

In recent years, the export product categories of “Made in Bay Area” continue to enrich. In addition to home appliances, garments, footwear and hats and other traditional products, exports of electronic equipment, machinery and equipment, new energy vehicles, fuel vehicles and other high value-added products have also shown significant growth.