China News Service, Chengdu, October 1 (Reporter Zhang Lang) The Chengdu International Express "Chengdu Europe-Africa" trans-Mediterranean multimodal transport line made its debut from the Chengdu International Railway Port on September 30. The smooth departure of a train carrying an LCD TV marked the successful opening of a new cross-border logistics channel by Chengdu international trains connecting the Mediterranean to North Africa via Turkey. The Asia-Chengdu-Europe international channel has officially been extended to the Mediterranean coast and emerging markets in North Africa.
First batch of goods. Photo courtesy of Chengdu International Railway Port
This transportation adopts a door-to-port one-stop full logistics service model, and the entire transportation operation relies on mature international intermodal transport links. The goods depart from the Chengdu International Railway Port and exit through Horgos Port via rail transportation, passing through Atenkoli and Aktau in Kazakhstan, passing through key nodes such as Baku in Azerbaijan, Tbilisi and Poti in Georgia, cross-border connection to the Istanbul hub in Turkey, and finally reaching the Port of Casablanca in Morocco through Mediterranean shipping, building a complete Asia-Europe-Africa cross-regional station-to-port logistics link.
The smooth progress of this launch is inseparable from the system support of the national railway system’s logistics reform. As an operating entity under the Logistics Division of China Railway Chengdu Bureau Group Co., Ltd. newly established in May 2026, the Marketing Department of Chengdu Railway Logistics Center has participated in the entire domestic section transportation organization of this train. Relying on the new operating system of the Logistics Division's "vertical management of the three major sectors of bulk, white goods, and multimodal transport + grid service coverage", the Chengdu Railway Logistics Center responded to the white goods attributes of the test goods and collaborated with the dedicated service team of the Intermodal Transport Marketing Department to formulate a transportation guarantee plan in advance, prioritize transportation capacity, and simplify customs clearance and connection processes, providing a solid railway guarantee for stable transportation in the domestic section.
It is understood that this rail-sea combined transport is tailor-made to accurately match the order transportation needs of key customers in Morocco. Chengdu International Railway Port Investment and Development Co., Ltd. coordinated the coordination and linkage of various business sectors, accurately implemented important links such as space booking, container deployment, and full transportation organization, controlled transportation timeliness and cargo safety throughout the entire process, and successfully completed the shipment of the first batch of goods.
The successful launch of this new line is an important breakthrough for Chengdu's China-Europe trains to deepen their efforts in multimodal transport and innovate the operation model of the Southern Corridor. Through the combined transportation mode of "railway transportation + ocean shipping connection", it has effectively solved the pain points of single logistics channel, high transportation cost and poor links from Sichuan to the North African market. It has provided a new and efficient logistics solution for goods from Sichuan and western regions to explore overseas markets in the Mediterranean and North Africa, further enriching the multimodal logistics system of Asia, Chengdu and Europe.
As a logistics hub for the opening up of the western region, the Chengdu International Railway Port Economic and Technological Development Zone continues to deepen the construction of China-Africa cross-border logistics channels and continuously improves the China-Africa logistics and transportation network. As early as October 2022, Chengdu opened the "Chengdu-Port of Hamburg-Port of Casablanca" cross-border route; in February 2024, it added the "Chengdu-Nansha Port-Banjul Port" transportation channel; in June 2025, it launched the "Chengdu-Port of Barcelona-Port of Tangier" train; it continues to expand the logistics paths for Sichuan goods to go to sea and connect China and Africa, and continues to consolidate Sichuan's logistics foundation for opening up to the outside world.
In the next step, Chengdu International Railway Port will continue to optimize the operation system of the China-Europe Express South Corridor, refine and improve the Mediterranean rail-sea intermodal transport organization plan in Istanbul, Turkey, and continue to enrich the multimodal transport product matrix of the Asia-Chengdu-Europe corridor. At the same time, we will further deepen the normalized cooperation with the logistics division of China Railway Chengdu Bureau Group Co., Ltd., rely on the local service network of the Chengdu Railway Logistics Center, promote the in-depth integration of cross-border logistics channels and local advantageous industrial clusters, empower the development of foreign trade with efficient logistics, and fully support "Chengdu products going overseas and Sichuan goods going overseas." (over)
