High Hopes For World’s Longest Railway That Links China To Spain | EMerging Equity

The world’s longest railway, connecting China to Spain. Image courtesy of The Independent.

A cargo train has just completed its maiden round trip journey of 16,156 miles on the world’s longest railway line that connects China to Spain and hopes are high that the new rail link will boost trade, according to an article on The Independent.

The new Yixin’ou rail line spans from China and runs through Kazakhstan, Belarus, Poland, Germany, and France before finally reaching Spain in a round trip journey that takes nearly four months to complete.

In November, an 82-container cargo train began its debut journey from the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu — packed with items for Christmas — and arrived in Madrid just ahead of the holiday on December 14.

Prior to the opening of the Yixin’ou line, goods that were traded between Europe and China were at the mercy of inefficient sea or air transportation, which meant higher prices in Europe.

“The cargo train will boost economic exchange between Yiwu, the world’s largest small commodity market, and Madrid, Europe’s largest small commodity market,” according to Li Huihuan, the manager of Yiwu CF International Logistics, whom operates the train.

The new Yixin’ou rail line is 450 miles longer than the previous record holder, the Trans-Siberian Railway, which connects Vladivostok in the east of Russia, to Moscow.

Hopes are running high that the new rail service will boost trade between the European Union (EU) and China, which currently stands around €1bn per day, as the train provides a vastly faster and superior service for shipping in comparison to that of seaborne shipping and is substantially cheaper than air cargo.

China’s eastern city of Yiwu, is the world’s largest wholesale market for small consumer goods according to Xinhua, a booming example of modern China according to The Independent, as the city’s small commodities market is growing at an exponential rate with  combined imports and exports valued at $23.7 Billion, a 28.6 percent increase year-over-year.