A goods train from China completed the world’s longest rail journey when it reached Madrid, its final destination, on Tuesday.
The train connecting China to Spain passed through seven nations in Asia and Europe, covering a mammoth 13,000 km. The train was flagged off from China’s international commodity hub of Yiwu on November 18 with 40 wagons, carrying 1,400 tonnes of cargo. The historic first journey will be evaluated with the aim of opening a regular two-way rail link between China and Spain, which could commence operations in early 2015.
Two major advantages of the journey were that the goods were transported much faster and less pollution was emitted. The train arrived in Spain in half the time a cargo vessel would need to cross from China to Spain and produced 62 per cent less carbon dioxide than a lorry making the journey.
