In brief: A China-Europe freight train bound for Moscow departed Puhe station in Shenyang on October 22, pushing the rail corridor’s cumulative trip count past 140,000 since it began operating in 2011, with more than $560 billion in goods carried over that period.
According to China’s National Development and Reform Commission, annual trips grew from 1,702 in 2016 to 20,022 in 2025, averaging over 30% growth a year; a single month’s volume today equals all of 2016, and May 2026 set a monthly record of 1,965 trains and 197,000 TEUs. China State Railway Group says the network now runs three overseas lines reaching 237 cities in 26 European countries and over 100 cities in 12 Asian countries. The southern line, running through Central Asia, is now a regular service and carried 746 trains in the first nine months of 2026, up 125% year on year.
For European and Turkish importers and exporters, the steady expansion of rail capacity — especially the fast-growing southern route — gives shippers a scalable alternative to sea lanes disrupted by conflict in the Middle East and the Red Sea, worth factoring into routing decisions for time-sensitive or high-value cargo moving between China and Europe.
Source: Xinhua, October 22, 2026.