New cargo train links China's Inner Mongolia, Moscow

HOHHOT, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A new cargo train carrying 50 goods containers departed Wednesday from Urad Back Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and is expected to arrive in Moscow in about 10 days.

It is the first China-Europe freight train service officially launched in Urad Back Banner in the city of Bayannur, a significant hub connecting China and Mongolia and a node city of the new Silk Road Economic Belt.

In 2022, Urad Back Banner plans to operate 55 China-Europe freight trains, transporting about 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of goods with an annual trade value of 300 million yuan (about 47.1 million U.S. dollars) to 500 million yuan.

The banner has completed the construction of two logistic rail lines and a large container yard, creating the largest and fastest railway logistics platform in the city, said Hai Gang, head of the banner's foreign affairs and commerce bureau.

An industrial park for warehousing, cold-chain, e-commerce, and logistics is also being planned to facilitate the cargo trade.