Freight trains to Europe post increase

Nearly 9,000 freight trains between China and Europe were operated from January to July, a slight increase amid sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks in China in the first half of the year, national railway operator China State Railway Group said on Tuesday.

The group operated 8,990 trains and delivered 869,000 20-foot equivalent units of goods, posting a year-on-year increase of 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

Among the trains, 1,517 were operated in July and 149,000 TEUs of goods were outbound, up 11 percent and 12 percent year-on-year respectively. Both figures are historical highs.