The first scheduled international intermodal train for transporting commercial vehicles from Xinjiang to Central Asia launches on Oct., 10, 2024. (Photo: China News Service/Gou Jipeng)

A freight train carrying 261 Chinese-made vehicles departed from in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, heading to Almaty in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

This marks the launch of the first scheduled international intermodal train specifically for transporting commercial vehicles from Xinjiang to Central Asia.

The train is scheduled to operate weekly, with the potential to boost annual auto exports from the Urumqi Comprehensive Bonded Zone by over 15,000 units.

Characterized by fixed departure places, with a regular schedule, the train ensures timely operations, supporting the export of domestically-produced automobiles, said Tan Xiaoyi, Party branch secretary of the Sanping business department at the Urumqi railway logistics center.

The new service has significantly reduced transit times at ports, providing greater convenience for automobile export transportations, said Yang Guang, deputy general manager at CDC International Logistics Co., Ltd, one of the companies responsible for the transportation of the train.

The train adopts a road-rail international intermodal model. The vehicles are first gathered and dispatched from the Urumqi Comprehensive Bonded Zone, exit through the Horgos port, and after arriving at Kazakhstan's Altynkol railway port, they are transferred to road transport and ultimately reach Almaty.

It is also expected to attract business involved in bonded repairs, inspections, assembly, and international vehicle trade, thus enhancing the development of the bonded processing industry and contributing to the growth of Xinjiang’s export-oriented economy.