China-EU Fast-track Rail Freight Cooperation

A train loaded with medical equipment, including surgical face masks and protective gowns, departs Yiwu, Zhejiang province, for Madrid, Spain, last month to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. LYU BIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Having departed from Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province, a cargo train loaded with COVID-19 protective equipment and materials arrived in Paris on June 23, reflecting the close cooperation between China and Europe.

The train, one of many China-Europe express services for the transportation of much-needed medical supplies, traveled 11,920 kilometers across seven countries before delivering some 20 million surgical masks and gloves, water-soluble bags, contactless gel dispensers and other resources.

The delivery marked the first direct, dedicated rail service for protective materials from China to France amid the pandemic.

In the meantime, two additional China-Europe freight trains, carrying supplies to aid the fight against the novel coronavirus, were on their way to Duisburg, Germany, and Madrid, Spain.

A police officer checks the ID card of a cargo train driver at the China-Mongolia border on July 1. GUO PENGJIE/FOR CHINA DAILY

Containers filled with surgical masks are loaded onto a Russia-bound train in Jiangxi province in May. HU GUOLIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

Customs officers inspect boxes of protective goggles in Guangdong province before they are shipped to Kazakhstan in April. LIN WENJUN/FOR CHINA DAILY