A freight train laden with auto parts and medical equipment and instruments has arrived back in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on July 14, after a 17-day journey from Hamburg, Germany, local media Report, noting that the train hauled 28 containers of auto parts and medical equipment, half of which will continue on to the city Changchun, in Jilin province after clearing customs in Harbin.

This was the second half of the train’s first round-trip journey on the 9,820-kilometer Sino-European line. It began on June 13, with about 40 containers of chemical, electronic, machinery, and auto products and women’s shoes, worth about $1.55 million.

The train operators say that a total of five trains have headed for Europe, carrying 218 containers of electronic, machinery, chemical, and consumer products, and that the most distinct feature of this Harbin-Hamburg line, compared to others, is its frequency – once a week from Harbin and Hamburg -- and its competitiveness and door-to-door deliveries.

They also say the train offers value-added services, such as financing, storage, and cross-border e-commerce, covering Hamburg, Duisburg, and Bavaria, in Germany, and Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, France and Italy and that they expect the train to run twice a week both ways by next year, with frequency adjusted to the demand.