The train route ran from Xian, located in the central part of China, through Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine to the destination station of Sławków (Poland). The train was dispatched on 24 December 2019, after which, having covered a distance of almost 9.5 thousand km, 12 days later it arrived at the Euroterminal Sławków, where the containers were reloaded onto 1435-mm gauge flat wagons and onto road vehicles to be further delivered to the target recipients in the EU countries.

“I am glad that the train quickly and safely arrived in Poland using the longest west-bound railway enclave with a wide gauge. Thanks to this, we expand our commercial offers in the field of transportation and logistics, adding new intermodal products. This is part of the company's strategy, which is aimed at diversifying the delivery process and its routes”, noted Zbigniew Tracichleb, Chairman of the Board of PKP LHS LLC, speaking at the ceremony dedicated to the train arrival.

The link launched from China to Sławków has resulted from a several-year work on this project. The cooperation established between the PKP LHS LLC and the Xian Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co. Ltd., as well as logistics partners from Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, will ensure the launch of regular routes from Xian to the station of Sławków LHS with a delivery period of 10 to 12 days.

“The selection of the LHS broad gauge line was determined by its advantages, to include, inter alia: no need for transshipment at the European Union’s border, the ability to receive the longest container trains in Europe up to 950 m long, as well as the potential of the Euroterminal Sławków. This is a logistics center with a high potential for further distribution of the goods arriving from China, their concentration and dispatch in the opposite direction. Sławków is also the beginning of the Trans-Caspian TMTM route, which provides a convenient opportunity for exporting food products and, thus, balancing freight flows to China. I am convinced that both routes will play an important role in the development of railway transport on the New Silk Road”, added Dariusz Sikora, Member of the Board for Commerce and Operation of PKP LHS LLC.

“I want to express my sincere congratulations to the management board and all employers of the PKP LHS LLC on the success achieved as a result of several-year activities. In 2018, imports from China to Poland amounted to $ 31 billion. If only 1% of these goods could pass through Sławków, this would be a serious impetus for further development of the PKP LHS and the entire region”, continued Member of the Board of the PKP JSC Mirosław Antonowicz at the train arrival ceremony held on 7 January 2020 at the Euroterminal Sławków.

Located at the final station of the broad-gauge LHS line, the Euroterminal Slawkow represents a modern container terminal serving regular railway routes connecting Slawkow with the cities of Gdansk, Swarzędz (Poland), Maddaloni (Italy) and Schwarzheide (Germany).

The population of Xian is 13 million people. Xian is an important economic center with developed enterprises of various industrial sectors – high-tech, engineering, electrical and metallurgical. The city is also the former capital of China, where the historic Silk Road began. Xian is currently the fastest growing dry port and logistics center on the New Silk Road.