Posted on 12/21/2020 3:07:02 PM PST by TigerLikesRoosterNew
In a major milestone, the first train carrying goods from Turkey to China reached its destination Saturday, Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister said.
"Announcing Turkey's power in logistics to the world from every city it passed through, the China Export Train is our victory in rail transport," Adil Karaismailoğlu wrote on Twitter.
"We are preparing our new export trains," Karaismailoğlu said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also lauded the development during an inauguration ceremony Saturday, saying this is a major success for Turkey.
The train set off from Istanbul on Dec. 4 and covered a distance of 8,693 kilometers (over 5,400 miles) across Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, and Kazakhstan to reach Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi province in central China.
Passing beneath the Bosporus through Istanbul's Marmaray tunnel, the train followed the Trans Caspian East-West Middle Corridor via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.
It passed Istanbul, the northwestern province of Kocaeli, the capital Ankara, the central Sivas province and eastern Kars province before making a stop at the Akhalkalaki Station in Georgia. It then traveled across Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan before entering Xi'an province.
The journey included more than 2,300 kilometers in Turkey, 220 kilometers in Georgia, 430 kilometers in Azerbaijan, 420 kilometers across the Caspian Sea, 3,200 kilometers in Kazakhstan, and 2,100 kilometers in China.
"With these transports, freight costs and duration will decrease significantly, while the competitiveness of both Turkey and manufacturers will increase," Karaismailoğlu said.
The minister underlined that the export train is the most important piece of proof that Turkey is set to become the center of transit transport between Asia and Europe.
"The Middle Corridor that passes through our country starts from Beijing, crosses the Caspian Sea and comes to Turkey. From here, it reaches Europe," he explained.
"On Dec. 4, we sent our first block export train from Istanbul to China. Our train made history as the first export train to China using the Marmaray from the European side and via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Iron Silk Road," the minister said.
In November 2019, Turkey and the world witnessed a historic moment after Ankara welcomed and sent off the first train that departed for China and Europe passing under the Bosporus via the Marmaray tunnel, marking the realization of the "Silk Railway" dream.
It made the journey on the Turkey-pioneered Trans Caspian East-West Middle Corridor and the Marmaray rail line.
The real Silk Road was an active trade route used between the second century B.C. and the 18th century A.C. that connected China and Europe through Anatolia and the Mediterranean region.
China's Railway Express directly connected the Czech Republic's Prague to Xi'an via Turkey.
Within the scope of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe via roads and sea lanes, the railway is reducing the freight transportation time between China and Turkey from one month to 12 days thanks to the BTK railway line, while the whole route between the Far East and Western Europe takes 18 days with the integration of the Marmaray tunnel.
On the basis of cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia within the scope of the BRI, the BTK railway line established a freight and passenger link between Europe and China and was launched in October 2017.
Providing the shortest rail link between Europe and Asia, the BTK plays an important role in the implementation of the initiative.
What do they make in Turkey that the Chinese wants to buy? Dates? Coffee grinders?
Trilateral rail project offers southern route for China's Belt and Road initiative
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev,far right, joins Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, next in front row, at the opening ceremony for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway in Baku on Oct. 30.
Olive oil.
It is a gateway to Europe.
How does a train travel across the Caspian Sea?
No one wearing masks. :-)
No masks. Good one. LOL!!!
looks like train ferry
Looks like they still have the same Standard gauge / Broad gauge issue that they would have shipping through Russia, with the addition of a boat ride.
Transloading containers looks like the easiest way in either case.
The Midnight Express?
The real question is the items shipped on the back-haul to Turkey.
Danger danger danger....
This will make it easier, in future U.S. elections, to get pre-printed ballots to the U.S.
Better that all those trans-pacific container ships...
The Atlantic crossing, after a China-to-Prague-to-UK train trip, would seem to be relatively quicker...
We could significantly shorten the post-election ballot count tabulations...
I can’t believe that Democrats used non-union offshore labor to print their fake ballots...
Why is Turkey still in NATO?
Keeping them from getting openly hostile. That is alleged to be a reasoning behind it.
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