China Railway Express freight trains are a key part of connectivity initiative

One early morning in April, a cargo train departs from the Shilong Railway International Logistics Base in Dongguan, in Guangdong province, heading for the Russian capital Moscow.

It takes 15 days for the train, loaded with mobile phone accessories, machinery, toys and other items, to cover 4,400 kilometers to Manchuria, in Inner Mongolia, and then travel another 6,600 kilometers to its destination in Russia.

The departure of these trains is now a regular feature at the Shilong station.

A cargo train called the "China Railway Express" departs once a week from Dongguan, a traditional manufacturing and trade hub in the prosperous Pearl River Delta region, for its destination in Europe.

The freight train departing from Shilong, in Dongguan, is just one of the many cargo trains linking 59 domestic cities with over 49 European cities.

"The China Railway Express freight trains, a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative, are crucial to boosting our business in Europe," says Wang Lei, a sales manager with OPPO, a Chinese global smartphone brand based in Dongguan.

The China-Europe cargo train helps greatly speed up customs clearance and shortens travel time, according to Wang.

"Within 15 says, our phones are available to customers in Russia," says Wang.

According to Fan Yongjian, the vice-general manager of the Sinotrans South China railway logistics department, cargo being shipped from Dongguan to Russia by sea usually takes 45-50 days.

"The China Railway Express service is an efficient alternative to traditional shipping by sea or air, helping move goods made in the Pearl River Delta quickly to the vast European market."

There were 58 China-Europe freight trains being operated from the Shilong station in 2018, with 5,176 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo being handled, according to the Shilong railway station.

The China-Europe freight trains have helped boost Dongguan's trade, according to the local statistics bureau.

The value of Dongguan's imports and exports increased 9.5 percent year-on-year to 1.34 trillion yuan ($199.6 billion) in 2018, with the value of trade with countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative increasing 25.4 percent to 263.2 billion yuan, according to the Dongguan Statistics Bureau. according to the Dongguan Statistics Bureau.

"The China Railway Express not only sends Chinese products to European and Asian countries, but also brings back European products to consumers in China," said Fan.

More than 6,000 China Railway Express trains traveled to countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018, an increase of 73 percent year-on-year, according to the www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn, a government-backed Internet portal of the Belt and Road Initiative information.

In return, more than 2,690 trains departed from Europe and Asia to China in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 111 percent, helping bring back cargoes from countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative to the vast Chinese market, according to the website.

According to a five-year plan to develop the China Railway Express to Europe, which was drawn up by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2016, three routes and 43 transit hubs on the cross-border network will be developed, besides improving the services and infrastructure throughout the region.

The 2016-2020 plan is the first top-level scheme to be proposed for the corridor, which has grown in popularity as firms in China seek shorter travel times for their goods, quicker customs clearance and better infrastructure, according to the NDRC.