A China-Europe freight train bound for Duisburg of Germany prepares for departure at Tuanjiecun Station in southwest China's Chongqing, Jan. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)
CHONGQING, June 22 (Xinhua) -- China's first freight train carrying whole-vehicle Audi imports from Europe arrived in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Monday.
The train, loaded with 82 Audi A8Ls worth more than 32 million yuan (about 4.95 million U.S. dollars) in total, left Germany's industrial city of Duisburg approximately 20 days ago. The cars will be distributed to Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi and other western regions of China.
"There will be one to two special Audi cargo trains arriving in Chongqing every week, with the first batch expected to carry more than 2,000 cars totaling over 800 million yuan," said Pei Lei, an official with the Chongqing Xiyong Comprehensive Bonded Zone.
The route will shorten the transport time to approximately 15 days, compared to more than two months when shipping by sea in the past.
Since the first China-Europe freight train left Chongqing in March 2011, the service has reached more than 160 cities in 22 European countries, according to a work conference at the office of the leading group on advancing Belt and Road development. ■
