China-Europe freight train YXE doubles freight volume amid pandemic: Spanish newspaper

Yiwu-Madrid (YXE) freight railway, the longest rail link in the world and an important part of the China-Europe freight trains network, has doubled its freight volume amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a Spanish media outlet has reported.

A China-Europe freight train carrying medical supplies bound for Madrid of Spain departs from the city of Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 5, 2020. (Photo by Lyu Bin/Xinhua)

Freight volume transported by such China-Europe freight trains as the YXE has doubled during the pandemic and increased by 110 percent in 2020, largely due to shipments of medical supplies from China to countries along the route, Madrid-based La Informacion newspaper reported on Sunday.

Data shows that a total of 141 cargo trains arrived in Madrid in 2020, with 15,750 containers for two-way shipments, Carlos Santana, managing director of the subsidiary of the YXE train operator in Spain told Spanish News Agency EFE, according to the newspaper.

The YXE rail link, which connects the eastern Chinese commodity hub of Yiwu with the capital of Spain, has played a key role in transporting health equipment from China in the early stages of the epidemic.

The rail link transported around 300 million masks to Spain, almost 35 percent of all masks Spain imported in 2020.

Apart from masks, other goods delivered by YXE during the pandemic included auto parts, mechanical equipment and household appliances, as many goods traditionally shipped by sea were transported by train due to port closures or route changes, the newspaper quoted Santana as saying.

Meanwhile, freight volume by YXE return trips from Madrid to Yiwu also registered a year-on-year increase of 46.84 percent.