Railways are becoming an increasingly popular way to both travel and move goods across the globe.
But people may not be aware that one train route spans 13,000 kilometres from the far east of Asia to the far-west of Europe.
The world’s longest train journey can take people from China to Spain.
It set off for the first time in 2014, taking 21 days to reach Spain via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and France.
The Yixinou freight train took precious cargo from Yiwu, an industrial centre in the east of China all the way to the Spanish capital, Madrid.
The journey was entered into the Guinness World Records, officially becoming the world’s longest train journey.
The route also sees good transported from Spain to China in the opposite direction.
By breaking the record, the Yiwu-Madrid route knocked the famous Trans Siberian Express off the top spot.
The route is one of at least 12 Chinese cities and 9 European cities to be connected by similar trains.
Madrid is not the only European capital connected directly to China via a train route.
People in the UK may be surprised to know that London has a similar connection.
Spanning 7,500 miles from Barking, east London, to Yiwu, this route has boosted trading ties between the two countries, just as it did for Spain.
It was launched in 2017 and has 34 carriages, carrying all kinds of goods including socks, bags and wallets.
The route was hailed by former leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Darren Rodwell.
He said: “We have a freight train terminus sitting there that’s not really being utilised – so already there’s goods.
“So the socks we are wearing, 90% of them come from Yiwu in China, they come on the train that comes into Barking. Which sounds a bit bizarre, but it does.
“They reckon by the end of the decade we will be linked to the whole of Europe, the whole of Asia and the whole of Africa.
“Well that’s a pretty powerful trade route to be linked to, in fact I’d say the most powerful.
“You’ll be able to go from Barking, in effect, to Beijing in 36 hours.
“I mean, that is not bad… We are the location that is connected to most of the world’s economies, and that’s got to be utilised. It’s greener, it’s cleaner and it’s quicker than shipping.”
