XI’AN, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) — On the evening of the 22nd, with a long whistle, the X8159 China-Europe freight train, loaded with 45 containers of electronic products, auto parts, daily necessities, and other goods, slowly departed from Xi’an International Port Station of China Railway Xi’an Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xi’an Railway Bureau”) heading west towards Budapest, Hungary. This marks the successful launch of the first China-Europe freight train (Xi’an-Budapest) with a full timetable. Xi’an has thus become the first city in China to achieve the normalized operation of three full-timetable China-Europe freight train routes, forming an operational pattern of “six departures and three returns” weekly.
As Xi’an’s third full-timetable route after Duisburg and Prague, this line achieves a “Five Fixed” bus-like operation: fixed point, fixed route, fixed time, fixed price, and fixed train number. “Budapest is an important logistics distribution center in the Central and Eastern Europe region. The normalized operation of this route not only serves bilateral trade between China and Hungary but also radiates to surrounding countries such as Slovakia, Austria, and Serbia, adding a ‘fast track’ for ‘Made in China with Wisdom’ to explore the European market and making high-quality European goods more accessible to China,” said Li Baozhou, Director of the Command Center at Xi’an West Station of Xi’an Railway Bureau.
The full-timetable China-Europe freight train is a type of train service where railway operators from countries along the route agree upon the train number, route, schedule, and fixed departure (domestic and international), border crossing, and arrival times. It achieves an integrated schedule for the Chinese section, broad-gauge section, and European section, effectively controlling the operational time for each segment of the China-Europe freight train, thereby improving transport efficiency and reducing costs while increasing benefits for import and export enterprises. The inaugural full-timetable China-Europe freight train (Xi’an-Budapest) will operate regularly with one train per week starting November 22. It departs from Xi’an International Port Station at 23:00 every Saturday, exits China via the Alashankou port in Xinjiang, traverses Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other countries, and is expected to arrive in Budapest, Hungary, in 10 days and 23 hours, improving transport efficiency by approximately 30% compared to ordinary freight trains.
Xi’an has developed a mature system in the field of full-timetable China-Europe freight trains. The first route to Duisburg opened in October 2022, achieving normalized operation of “two departures and one return” in 2023, and increasing frequency to “four departures and three returns” in 2024. Just three days after the inaugural launch of the Prague route on November 19, 2025, the Budapest route was opened. Within just four years, a cumulative total of 657 trains have been operated. The full-timetable China-Europe freight train (Xi’an) has won widespread praise from domestic and international customers for its efficient, stable transport capacity and high-quality service.
Behind the efficient transportation is the support of a full-chain guarantee system. Xi’an Railway Bureau implements the principle of “priority allocation of empty wagons, priority /unloading, priority inspection, priority departure.” Relying on the unmanned gantry cranes and intelligent container positioning system at Xi’an International Port Smart Station, loading and unloading efficiency has increased by 40%, with a peak daily loading capacity of 1,530 wagons. “We have advanced the logistics service gateway, cleared bottlenecks in business processes, and ensured fast and seamless connection between consignment, inspection, and transfer, helping the full-timetable China-Europe freight train form a full-chain closed-loop service model,” said Liu Shunli, Shift Manager of the Xi’an International Port Business Department at the Logistics Center of Xi’an Railway Bureau.
In the next step, Xi’an Railway Bureau will collaborate with Xi’an Chanba International Port and China Railway Container Transport Co., Ltd. Xi’an Branch to continuously optimize the train transport organization, deepen international multi-party cooperation, and enhance service efficiency. This will promote economic and trade cooperation between Shaanxi and European countries towards broader areas and deeper levels, injecting stronger momentum into accelerating the construction of Shaanxi as an inland reform and opening-up highland, smoothing domestic and international dual circulation, and helping foster high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. (End)
