The first container train headed for Riga departs from China

On Thursday, 20 October, Latvian Transport Minister Uldis Augulis, representatives from LDz and YXE International Container Train, multiple Chinese officials and Latvia’s ambassador in China Maris Selga saw off the first test container train from China to Riga.

The test route Yiwu-Zabaikalsk-Riga is 11,066 km long. The entire run is expected to conclude at the beginning of November with a festive arrival of the train at Riga Central Station. The test run is organized by LDZ Logistics and the Chinese Railway in cooperation with TransContainer, as BNN was informed by Transport Ministry.

«Today marks a historic moment for transit, because what we are witnessing now is the result of our hard work – green is given to the first test cargo train headed for Riga. I am happy with this outcome, as it was accomplished in relatively short period of time, considering the specifics of this industry and the challenges we had to face in order to reach this moment. I visited China this summer and we reached an agreement on cooperation. This is the first step towards regular cooperation and I hope this event will help us successfully develop cooperation with China in the field of transit and logistics,» – Augulis emphasized.

As it is known, on 12 July, Latvia and China signed an agreement memorandum on the development of China Railway Express project to establish railway connectivity between China and Europe.

Comment