China launches the world’s longest freight train route

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This week saw the launch of a new rail service between China’s northern manufacturing hub of Harbin and Hamburg, representing the most ambitious Asia-Europe rail service yet. The weekly service takes 15 days and passes through Mongolia, Russia, Belorussia and Poland, and involves at least two rail gauge switches. That transit time may be substantially shortened in the future should a $242bn plan to construct a high-speed rail link between Moscow and Beijing actually come to pass.