First China-bound freight train arrives NW Turkey

KOCAELI, Turkey

The first train carrying goods from Turkey to China arrived in the northwestern Kocaeli province on Sunday.

It stayed in Kocaeli for a while and then set off again.

The train, which will reach China in 12 days, is scheduled to leave Turkey on Dec. 8 by following the Ankara-Sivas-Kars route.

It will make a stop at the Akhalkalaki Station in Georgia, and then travel across Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan before entering China’s Xi'an province.

Operated in collaboration with the Turkish State Railways and Pacific Eurasia, the train will pass through two continents, two seas and five countries.

The 8,693-kilometer journey includes 2,323 kms in Turkey, 220 in Georgia, 430 in Azerbaijan, 420 in the Caspian Sea, 3,200 in Kazakhstan and 2,100 in China.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan