First direct train service from China to the UK arrives in London this morning.

www.google.co.uk... el-a7533726.html%3Famp

First direct train service from China to the UK arrives in London this morning.

The train, which is operated by Yiwu Timex Industrial Investments, arrived carrying 34 containers packed with £4 million worth of clothes and other goods and was greeted by a group of officials and local residents.

Look like europe going to make china great again.

originally posted by: Pandaram

www.google.co.uk... el-a7533726.html%3Famp

First direct train service from China to the UK arrives in London this morning.

The train, which is operated by Yiwu Timex Industrial Investments, arrived carrying 34 containers packed with £4 million worth of clothes and other goods and was greeted by a group of officials and local residents.

None of your links are working. Here you go.

First direct train service from China to the UK arrives in London

The first ever direct freight train service from China to the UK has arrived in London after an epic 17-day journey.

The East Wind service departed Yiwu City in China’s Zhejiang Province on 3 January and crossed ten countries on its 7,456-mile trip, before pulling into Barking rail terminal in East London on Wednesday afternoon.

It crossed China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before finally reaching Britain.

click link for article / video.

Hell of a thing. 17 days.

Be a pain in the neck transferring everything between standard and wide gauge rails though.

originally posted by: SprocketUK
Hell of a thing. 17 days.

Be a pain in the neck transferring everything between standard and wide gauge rails though.

I think its a complete new build, so standard gauge all the way, and its quicker than by sea.

a reply to: pikestaff

Wow. That's even more incredible.

Some feat of engineering.
The kinda thing Brunel would have loved.

Just for the record - it takes just about same time for Boeing 747 flying 600 miles per hour to reach the Moon.

a reply to: enjoylife

yea, but how much would it cost t transport 10kg into space vs how much it costs to transport 1 ton by train.

this is a massive accomplishment. quite possibly the future of cargo shipping between Eurasia.

I read about this a couple of days ago and was so jealous of the driver and crew.

I love trains and I'd loved to have made that journey. Well done all of them.

No passenger cars then? Just freight?

originally posted by: berenike
I read about this a couple of days ago and was so jealous of the driver and crew.

I love trains and I'd loved to have made that journey. Well done all of them.

Sitting in a train for two and a half weeks straight would drive me insane.

originally posted by: Junkheap

originally posted by: berenike
I read about this a couple of days ago and was so jealous of the driver and crew.

I love trains and I'd loved to have made that journey. Well done all of them.

Sitting in a train for two and a half weeks straight would drive me insane.

Think of the overtime!

a reply to: Junkheap

But you could look out the window at over 7,000 miles of the world.

Or read a book, or wander along the corridors, or look around the railway stations of about a dozen countries, or talk to exotic foreign people.

When I was 16 I was on a train to Poland and the lady sitting opposite decided to take her baby's temperature. Well - as far as I knew the thermometer always went in the aperture at the top end. Imagine my surprise to discover that wasn't always the case.

You can learn a lot on trains

a few points - in no particular order

its painfully slow . yes i know it makes china to UK in 17 days , as compared to 33 days hong kong to felixtow but as a rail service its slow - < 30 kph average speed thats not good transit speed for a train

its a niche " product " - it will never replace bulk transporters - but i forsee it being best for its flexibility and better ability to handle small loads - for businesses that cannot fill a container

it has a limited capacity - as it has to tranship across multiple guages - the number of trains that can be " en route " at any one time is limited - and it still doesnt offer the speed needed for fresh food // cut flowers etc etc etc

it does however offer a better service than sea transport for stuff like ripening fruit thats designed to be reaady to eat when it hits the destination port

ecconomics - the latest bulk transports can carry 14000 TEU [ 33 days at sea ] , this train just managed 68 TEU [ 18 days in transit ] - that means over 100 train journies to replicate one sea voyage

like i say - for certain products - speed matters - and it will be able to replace some airfreight service [ that needs faster than 33 day transit time ]

but for most goods - maritime transport will still be the way to go

all that said - kudos for getting everything organised to actually be able to offer the service at all .

originally posted by: Pandaram
Look like europe going to make china great again.

Not if they slap a hefty tariff on the incoming goods...what's the going rate...35%?

a reply to: Pandaram

Great. More landfill.

Yes...... 17 days on a train, where do i sign up.

a reply to: Pandaram

Wonder if it stops at the Chinese version of Hogwats.

originally posted by: Pandaram
Look like europe going to make china great again.

I for one welcome our new Chinese overlords.

very big nuc bomb goes off in London.
no one can guess how it got in?