Container Consignment From Praha To Yiwu

On 19 July 2017 a consignment of 41 40-foot containers departed from the METRANS terminal at Praha-Uhříněves bound for Yiwu in Zhejiang province. This was a promotional, one-off pilot service, organised in association with a Chinese investment forum held in Praha the previous day. The payloads consisted of a mixture of Czech export products, including porcelain, crystal glass, cosmetic and automotive components. The train is routed via Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, and is expected to take 16 days. A westbound service from Yiwu to the Czech Republic is expected to run soon, and should there be sufficient demand a regular service might be established. Although this is not the first service to be operated from the Czech Republic to China, it is the first one to be provided following an initiative from China. The first photo, taken at the METRANS terminal, shows METRANS’s 761.002 about to depart with the train. Eurorunner hauled it only to the Praha-Uhříněves station. METRANS was the organiser of the service as far as the border between Poland and Belarus, while haulage was provided by ČD Cargo and PKP Cargo. InterRail Holding is the main operator of the train. The other photo was taken near Česká Třebová, showing ČD Cargo’s 130.036 at the head of the train.