Chongqing–Budapest China-Europe freight train launches

The Chongqing–Budapest China-Europe freight train is now in regular operation as a new fixed-schedule China-Europe freight service linking southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality with the Hungarian capital. The launch, reported by Xinhua, forms part of the wider China Railway Express network of China-Europe freight trains.

Chongqing–Budapest China-Europe freight train route and schedule

On this route, the train carries automotive and motorcycle parts, electronic products and other consumer goods headed for Budapest, a major transport hub for Central and Eastern Europe.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

As a fixed-schedule China-Europe freight train service, the journey is expected to take about 11 days, a timeframe also highlighted by Travel And Tour World. Along the way, the train leaves China via the Alataw Pass in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and then runs through Kazakhstan, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia before arriving in Hungary.

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For Chongqing, the Chongqing–Budapest China-Europe freight train becomes the municipality’s second fixed-schedule China-Europe freight train connection, alongside an existing fixed-schedule service between Chongqing and Duisburg in Germany. Taken together, these fixed-schedule China-Europe freight links reinforce Chongqing’s position as a logistics hub connected to key European destinations.

Part of the China Railway Express and Belt and Road network

Unlike traditional freight services, fixed-schedule China-Europe freight trains operate on predetermined timetables and standardized routes. According to China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd., this model significantly improves both efficiency and reliability. The company estimates that the Chongqing–Budapest route can reduce transit time by around 30 percent compared with conventional freight trains.

Yang Lianchen from the Chongqing railway logistics center under China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd. notes that the fixed-schedule setup offers greater predictability for production planning, logistics and capital turnover. In practice, it provides a more efficient cross-border logistics option for Chongqing’s electronics, automotive, motorcycle and equipment manufacturing industries, which rely on stable China Railway Express connections.

Data released by China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. shows that China-Europe freight trains operating under the China Railway Express banner have already made a cumulative 120,000 trips and transported goods worth more than 490 billion U.S. dollars. These China-Europe freight trains, widely covered by trade media such as Railway Supply, underpin a growing logistics corridor between China and Europe.

As a flagship project and landmark brand of the Belt and Road Initiative, this network now links 232 cities in 26 European countries and more than 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, forming a comprehensive logistics corridor across Eurasia.

An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 30, 2025, shows a China-Europe freight train bound for Budapest departing from Tuanjiecun Station in Chongqing, visually marking the launch of the new fixed-schedule service between Chongqing and Budapest.

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