Ana Pastor attends arrival of first railway freight transport between China and Spain

This initiative represents a milestone for both China-Spain trade relations and the international railway sector by demonstrating the capacity of cross-border railway freight traffic as a means of transport of the utmost reliability, versatility and competitiveness when compared with other forms of transport. In this case, the experience has generated an estimated saving of more than ten days by using the terrestrial route instead of the maritime route.

The Ministry of Public Works has implemented a comprehensive logistics strategy for improving the efficiency and sustainability of the transport system, developing an intermodal network and enhancing Spain's role as a freight hub through three lines of action: regulation, control and supervision; service management and provision; and investment.

It is also worth noting that this train travelled along the Atlantic Freight Corridor (promoted by the European Union) from Mannheim in Germany to Madrid in Spain (a total of 1,818 kilometres, 645 of which are in Spain). One of the most outstanding features of the European Freight Corridors is the implementation of one-stop-shops for speeding up and simplifying access to the network and thereby encouraging international traffic, which, in the case of the Atlantic Corridor, is located in Spain and managed by Adif.

The results of this first experimental journey will now be assessed with a view to the possible development of a stable, bi-directional railway freight corridor between Spain and China - the largest economic world power - of a similar nature to the trade relationship that currently exists between Germany and China, which already operates at least five trains per week.

Such consolidation of a railway corridor between Yiwu - the largest commodities sale and distribution centre in the world - and the Abroñigal logistics terminal - strategically located in the Spanish capital of Madrid - would not only provide a new link but also a new channel for export and significant business opportunities.

This first direct railway service was made possible thanks to collaboration from the Governments of Spain and China through their respective embassies, the ministerial departments and institutions involved (such as the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Treasury, the latter via the Spanish Tax Office at whose customs and excise centre the train arrived), and the various companies involved in railway transportation: InterRail IRS, DB Schenker Rail and Transfesa.

The journey between Yiwu and Madrid

The train, which began its journey on 18 November in Yiwu on the east coast of China, has travelled approximately 13,000 kilometres in the scheduled time of 21 days and, besides crossing China from east to west, also passed through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany and France to reach Spain. The train - called Yixinou (a contraction in Mandarin of Yiwu, Xinjiang and Europe) - unloaded 30 of the 40 containers with which it began its journey at its final destination.

Operated by IRS (InterRail Services) and DB Schenker Rail, the train ran in Spain through the railway company Transfesa. Along its journey, the train weighing 1,400 tonnes gross changed locomotive every 800 kilometres approximately.
Furthermore, gauge switches or container transfers were also necessary in the border cities of Dostyk (Kazakhstan), Brest (Belarus) and Irún (Spain) because of different track gauges along the route.

Logistics installations

The Adif logistics installations in Irún - the entry point into Spain - are a key nodal infrastructure for freight railway transport in the European Union, guaranteeing permeability between the Spanish and French networks via a process of container transfer between trains. These operations, which take place in an average time of four hours, are carried out directly by Adif. Furthermore, this centre can handle train arrivals/departures 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In turn, the intermodal installations of Adif at Madrid Abroñigal - the final destination for the train - manage the largest volume of containers transported by land on the Iberian Peninsula, making them the largest hub of this kind in Spain. As is the case in Irún, this centre can handle train arrivals/departures at any time of the day, any day of the year.

As a customs and excise centre operated by the Spanish Tax Office, Madrid Abroñigal also operates ADT-Lame [Temporary Customs Warehouse (ADT) and Licensed Premises for Export Goods (LAME)] - an essential tool for the import and export of goods. Hence, Abroñigal manages transits of this kind associated with maritime traffic from non-EU countries, which has been growing significantly in recent years. With the new traffic coming from China, Abroñigal is again managing customs transits of continental origin; in other words, from non-EU countries without using sea ports of entry on the Iberian Peninsula.

In this regard, activity by the customs authorities and other border control enforcement bodies takes place at the end of the process, when the goods reach Madrid Abroñigal. In its pursuit of legitimate trade, the Spanish Customs Office represents the final step in the distribution process for goods arriving from China into the internal market of the European Union.

Annex

Facts and figures:

• Journey time: 21 days.
• Kilometres travelled: 13,000, the distance between Yiwu and Madrid. This distance is greater than the combined length of the famous Trans-Siberian and Orient Express services (12,250 kilometres); equates to over 85% of the entire Spanish railway network (including the conventional gauge network, the wide metric gauge network and the high-speed network); and could only be surpassed by a hypothetical railway service (currently non-existent and practically impossible) between Anchorage (Alaska, United States) and Usuhaia (Argentina).
• Countries traversed: China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, France and Spain.
• Gauge switch or freight transfer points:
• Dostyk, border with Alashankou (China).
• Brest (Belarus), border with Malaszewicze (Poland).
• Irún (Spain), border with France.
• Arrival date in Spain: 6 December, in Irún (Guipuzcoa).
• Arrival date at destination: 9 December, in Madrid, Abroñigal logistics terminal, the largest container terminal in Spain.
• Number of containers carried: 40 to Brest and 30 from Brest to Spain.
• Yiwu is one of the main factory regions in China, which, in turn, is the largest economy in the world.
• The train is called Yixinou, a contraction in Mandarin of Yiwu (origin of the freight train), Xinjiang (the region in which Yiwu is located) and Europe.
• Irún and Abroñigal, which provide a service 24 hours a day every day of the year, are two of the main logistics centres operated by Adif: Irún guarantees permeability between the Spanish and French networks, while Abroñigal manages the largest volume of containers transported by land on the Iberian Peninsula.