The regional government of the northern Spanish region of Aragon and the Chinese city of Yiwu signed an agreement to maximize the benefits of the Yixinou freight train, which links the Chinese city and Madrid, the capital of Spain, reports Xinhua.
The "train of silk" goods "Yixinou", unites over 13,052 kilometers Yiwu city with Madrid, has a stop in Zaragoza. An 8,000 mile crossing from China to Spain, passing through eight countries and taking 20 days, has raised hopes of a new "Silk Train" transport route.
The President of the Government of Aragon, Javier Lamban, and the chief of Yiwu, Sheng Qiuping, have signed this agreement to strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
Sheng explained that the last return trip to Yiwu carried red wine, olive oil and Spanish juices and "soon we run out of them because they arrived just before the celebration of the Spring Festival."
The president of Aragon, Javier Lamban, highlighted: "China has a great potential and, therefore, we want to collaborate with their projects," adding that "the cargo airport of Zaragoza is one of the most important in southern Europe and we are improving connections with ports from the Cantabrian and Mediterranean sea".
The freight train, which runs through eight European and Asian countries, started for the first time Yiwu to Madrid on November 18, 2014, two months after the route was reversed and has already operated 41 times between the two cities, carrying 2,644 containers.
The Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Spain, Chen Yuming, was also present at the signing of the agreement and encouraged all entrepreneurs of Aragon to "get the maximum benefits" of this rail line.
Euro Cargo Rail, a subsidiary of German freight operator DB Shenker Rail, is also studying the possibility of starting a regular service between China and Spain during the first half of next year with two monthly trips