On 10th February 2025, a freight train carrying communication equipment and other products left from China’s Chongqing Municipality. The train is expected to arrive in Afghanistan in 12 to 15 days.
The first train dispatched, carrying goods from China to Afghanistan, arrived in Mazar-e Sharif was on 23rd November 2024. According to reports, the Taliban government had reported to have received 55 containers in Afghanistan after a 22-day journey. Since Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, China has attempted to increase ties as part of its economic push in the region, including its Belt and Road initiative. This has opened a new and a direct freight train route, which passes through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other nations which fall between Chongqing and Afghanistan.
According to reports, the recent freight train is carrying communication equipment aboard, which is manufactured by Chinese telecom firm ZTE. The equipment is to be utilized in the development of local communication networks in Afghanistan.
Liu Jainfeng , ZTE said “Via direct freight train services, the transportation duration has been reduced by three to five days compared to previous road transport, and logistics costs are expected to be cut back by 15 to 20 percent.”
The inauguration of the freight train is deemed as the progression in the economic and trade cooperation between the two Central Asian countries.
China has strived to make a mark in the comprehensive inland hub. It hopes to do so by increasing the number of freight trains to Europe and various other Central Asian countries.
It has been reported that currently there are more than 18,000 trains from China with over 50 regular routes to European and Central Asian countries.
This gives access to approximately 100 hub cities in regions in Asia and Europe.
In March 2011, the China-Europe freight train (Yuxin’ou) service was launched from Chongqing to Duisburg, this led to a direct overland trade corridor between China and Europe.
The new container train from Chongqing to Hairatan is expected to facilitate speedy cargo deliveries and reduce logistics costs by 15–20%. This was reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.
The Container Train as a New Trade Corridor has two major advantages:
- The route will ensure the consistent delivery of China’s supplies to Afghanistan and increase cargo turnover. This is vital to China’s interest to expand its trade connections.
- The new route will create economic opportunities for Afghan businesses. Experts believe that the volume of shipments is anticipated to rise significantly in the future.
