China-Europe rail service to be inaugurated soon

A regular express train from Poland to southwest China's Sichuan province is expected to be inaugurated by the end of this month, authorities in Sichuan's Chengdu city said Thursday.

The first one-way express rail service in the opposite direction -- from Chengdu to Lodz in central Poland, crossing Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus -- began running on April 24.

The rail transport is organised by China's Chengdu Hatrans YHF Intermodal Logistics, and Lodz-based logistics firm Hatrans is the train operator in Poland.

"Twenty-three trains have so far travelled from China to Poland, transporting 1,886 TEUs," said Chen Zhongwei, director of the General Office of Chengdu Municipal Leading Group for Modern Logistics Development.

The one-way service, traveling 9,826 km in 12 days, is eight to 10 days faster than ordinary trains, but thus far has travelled back empty to China during the initial trial operation period.

The operation of the railway from Poland back to China is expected to help boost Sino-European trade, transporting products including European cars to China next month.