First freight train arrives in London from E. China

LONDON, Jan 18 (KUNA) -- The first China-to-Britain freight train has arrives at the Barking rail terminal, east London, from Yiwu town in China's eastern province of Zhejiang on Wednesday.
The train, with 34 containers, has finished a historic 18-day 12,000-km long journey through seven countries, namely Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France, before crossing through the English Channel.
It set off from Yiwu railway station on New Year's Day carrying USD 4.8 million worth of goods.
The freight service, run by China Railway Express Co., is scheduled to conduct regular journeys to London on an initial weekly basis.
It falls in the framework of the "One Belt, One Road" development initiative, unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2013 to link his country with the rest of Eurasia. (end) mrn.gb