Freight train ‘Yixinou’ has set off on the 13,000-kilometre return journey from Madrid to Yiwu on China’s east coast.
In December 2014, the 1,400-tonne train arrived at the Abroñigal freight yard in Madrid having completed the first ever rail freight service between China and Spain.
The rail corridor is being described as a 21st century Silk Road – named after the historic transcontinental trade route famous for transporting Chinese silk.
Spain’s Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Julio Gómez-Pomar, was in Madrid on May 18 to see Yixinou begin the return journey to China loaded with products like wine, oil and mineral water.
Throughout its 21-day run, the train will pass through France, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan.
Following the trial, Spain and China hope to operate a regular bi-directional service.
Curious to know if the one locomotive is doing the full return trip, how are gauge changes dealt with. China is standard gauge, but there are a number of different gauges on the journey.
Correct. Several different locomotives and several different crews to operate them. No automatic gauge changing system either – containers have to be transferred to a different train as far as we’re aware.
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