The first pilot container train mutually organized by Latvian and Chinese railways arrived in the Riga Central railway station at the beginning of November.
The train has covered the route from the Yiwu city in China, through Zabaykalsk in Russia and finally arrived in Riga.
The train has been organized in less than four months since the initial agreement signed by the Latvian and Chinese railway companies on development of container train traffic between the two countries.
The President of “Latvijas dzelzceļš†(Latvian Railway), EdvÄ«ns BÄ“rziņš said: “Together with our partners such as China railway, Yiwu platform, “Interrail AG†and “TransContainerâ€, we have managed to bring China closer to Europe via Latvia. In less than four months after signing of the Letter of Intent between “Latvijas dzelzceļš†and China railway regarding the establishment of container train traffic, today we are not only welcoming the first test train Yiwu-Riga but already working on new routes and proposals.â€
The pilot train route started in China, in the developing Yiwu city located not far from Shanghai. The train crossed the China-Russia border near Zabaykalsk and travelled all the way through Russia to the Latvian capital city, Riga. The total length of this route exceeds 11,000 km, and the train covered around 1,200 km per day in some parts of Russia. The train carries textiles, bathroom equipment and household goods.
