Fully loaded with "Hunan-made" goods, the train was set to exit via the Manzhouli Port, with the entire journey taking about 15 days. The so-called "dual-hub" means that on the Chinese side it relies on Changsha as a national assembly center, while on the overseas side it connects with a large hub terminal. The Bely Rast Container Terminal is a key railway terminal of a logistic hub in Russia. The two ends are no longer simple stations but super hubs capable of goods collection, warehousing, distribution, and dispatch.
On November 9, the dual-hub train of the China-Europe (Changsha) Freight Train Service makes its inaugural departure from the Changsha North Railway Station. (Photo/Lu Yi, China News Service)
On the outbound journey, goods from Hunan and surrounding areas are gathered at the Changsha hub for a unified marshalling, with the full train heading to the overseas hub. Upon arrival at the overseas hub, these goods will be redistributed to other regions and cities. On the return journey, overseas goods are collected at the overseas hub before being transported back to Changsha as a full train, and then distributed to various places. With one main route and a radiating network, the dual-hub freight train upgrades the China-Europe Freight Train Service from "linear transport" to a corridor network that integrates trunk and branch lines and combines goods collection, transport, and distribution.
In 2025, Changsha was approved as a national assembly center for the China-Europe Freight Train Service. The inaugural departure of the dual-hub train marks a leap of this assembly center from a "transit corridor" to an "organizational hub." In the future, as Changsha's connections with overseas hubs such as Minsk and Poznan continue to strengthen, and trains on full timetables are deeply integrated with the dual-hub network, Changsha's function as an organizational hub will become increasingly prominent.
This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Pang Yuehui
Chinese source: Chinanews
On the outbound journey, goods from Hunan and surrounding areas are gathered at the Changsha hub for a unified marshalling, with the full train heading to the overseas hub. Upon arrival at the overseas hub, these goods will be redistributed to other regions and cities. On the return journey, overseas goods are collected at the overseas hub before being transported back to Changsha as a full train, and then distributed to various places. With one main route and a radiating network, the dual-hub freight train upgrades the China-Europe Freight Train Service from "linear transport" to a corridor network that integrates trunk and branch lines and combines goods collection, transport, and distribution.
In 2025, Changsha was approved as a national assembly center for the China-Europe Freight Train Service. The inaugural departure of the dual-hub train marks a leap of this assembly center from a "transit corridor" to an "organizational hub." In the future, as Changsha's connections with overseas hubs such as Minsk and Poznan continue to strengthen, and trains on full timetables are deeply integrated with the dual-hub network, Changsha's function as an organizational hub will become increasingly prominent.
This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Pang Yuehui
Chinese source: Chinanews
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