The world’s longest rail journey came to an end in Madrid this week after travelling 8,111 miles from China.
It is the first direct link between China and Spain. The maiden journey began 20 days earlier in Yiwu in eastern China and passed through six countries - Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France.
Dubbed the “21st-century Silk Road”, its route is longer than either the Trans-Siberian railway or the Orient Express.
The test run is expected to lead to a regular freight service next year. Spain is an extension of a route that already exists between China and Germany which operates five times per week.
China is Spain’s third largest source of imports, after Germany and France, and its bilateral trade is worth around £16bn. About half of these imports are mobile phones and clothing.
This journey brought in 1,400 tonnes of items, predominately toys, stationery and other goods for sale over Christmas. The return trip will haul back wine, jamòn and olive oil in time for the Chinese new year in February.
The three-week trip sliced in half the six-week sea journey and was more environmentally friendly than road transport.
Roughly 80% of global trade goes by sea as freight train service can be complicated by several technical and bureaucratic hurdles which vary from country to country. As it was, this journey required three transfers because of incompatible rail gauges.
