An international train route that connects Suzhou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region and European countries opened to traffic in 2014, which has brought more logistics convenience for foreign trade enterprises in Kunshan of Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
The route stretches out 11,200 kilometers long, starting from Suzhou, and passing through Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Russia, Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic to end in Poland.
Over the years, Suzhou has maintained close ties with European countries. However, the 20,000 kilometer maritime route between China and Europe proved to have some logistics inconvenience. The newly-launched railway route could substantially save transport time for imports and exports.
Peng Zhiliang, manager of Foxconn Technology Group in Kunshan, said that his company is now able to transport goods from Kunshan to Poland in 15 days, at least 10 days shorter than before.
Furthermore, the customs of Kunshan and Inner Mongolia autonomous region have jointly developed an integrated system for cargo declaration, inspection and clearance, which saves time and money.
According to statistics by Kunshan customs, 17 million tons of goods were transported by train rather than by sea in 2014.