Chongqing–Xinjiang–Europe railway, abbreviated as Yu–Xin–Ou railway (Chinese: 渝新欧铁路; pinyin: Yú–Xīn–Ōu tiělù), is a freight rail route linking Chongqing in Southwestern China, with Duisburg, Germany. The name 渝新欧 is an acronym, consisting of Yu (渝, Chongqing), Xin (新, Xinjiang), Ou (欧, Europe).
It passes through the Dzungarian Gate into Kazakhstan, and moves through Russia, Belarus and Poland before arriving in Duisburg.[1] The railway is part of a growing rail network connecting China and Europe along the New Silk Road.[2][3][4][5]
The Yuxinou train is operated by YUXINOU (Chongqing) Logistics Co., Ltd, a joint venture between RZD Logistika JSC, Russia, the YUXINOU (Chongqing) Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. and the China Railways International Multimodal Transport Company Ltd. (CRIMT), both from the People's Republic of China, the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the national railway company of Kazakhstan, and the DB Schenker China Ltd, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn.
The 11,179 km route takes 13[4] to 16[1] days to reach Duisburg from Chongqing, compared to the 36-day container ship transport time as well as being safer and less expensive, according to Chongqing authorities.[1]
From January to November, 2012, a total of 40 freight trains ran on the Yuxinou Railway, transporting 1747 containers with 21,000 tons cargo, and worth of 1.15 billion USD. The freight included 3.062 million laptops and 564,000 liquid crystal display screens.[7]
In 2012, the train, "roughly eight football fields [800 yards or meters] long", ran weekly. In early 2014 it runs three times weekly and, "to accommodate a sevenfold increase volume since 2012 -- soon will go daily". An article by the investor news website 'Seeking Alpha' predicted that by 2020 trade from China to Germany could surpass that from the Netherlands and France, Germany's top two trading partners in 2014.[8]
In 2018, around 30 trains ran every week, 10 times more than in 2014.[9]