September 30 (SeeNews) - Serbia and China have launched a freight rail service linking the two countries, infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic has said.
"The first freight train bound for Serbia departed on Tuesday from the Chinese city of Jinan in the province of Shangdong," Mihajlovic said, as quoted in a statement by Serbia's infrastructure ministry on Sunday.
The distance between Jinan and Belgrade is about 10,500 kilometres and the train will cover it for 25 days, passing through China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary, the infrastructure ministry said.
"The launch of the rail freight line between China and Serbia creates opportunities for all businessmen from Serbia and the region, as they will be able to export their goods to the Chinese market and import the necessary goods from China, because rail transport is much more cost-effective than air or maritime transport," Mihajlovic noted.
The first freight train traveling to Serbia transports equipment for the overhaul of the railway linking Belgrade to Hungary's Budapest by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).