A freight train carrying new-energy vehicles made in Southwest China"s Chongqing departs Yuzui Station at Guoyuan Port in Chongqing on January 7, 2026. The freight train is scheduled to reach Nansha Port in South China"s Guangzhou in 48 hours before shipping onward to the Middle Eastern market. Photo: Courtesy of Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park

　　On January 1, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA)"s first China-Europe freight train in 2026 departed from Zengcheng West Station at the Guangzhou Eastern Road-rail Intermodal Transport Hub under customs supervision. The train is scheduled to exit China via the Horgos border port and reach Malaszewicze, Poland, in around 14 days, marking the official launch of the China-Europe overland trade corridor for the new year, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

　　The train carried 110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) with a total cargo value of about 20 million yuan ($2.8 million), mainly electronics, daily consumer goods and textile products manufactured in the GBA.

　　As a key hub linking the GBA with countries participating in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Zengcheng West Station has opened 14 outbound routes and eight return routes, reaching 34 cities in 17 countries across Europe, Central Asia and ASEAN, with its operating volume ranking the highest in Guangdong Province.

　　Beyond the GBA, freight trains also departed from multiple regions on New Year"s Day in 2026, reflecting broad-based and coordinated launches across the network.