Storyline Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of central China's Henan, on Tuesday launched its first China-Europe freight train operating on a fully scheduled international timetable, bringing the total number of such routes to 17. The X8003 train departed Zhengzhou at 04:30, bound for Hamburg, Germany, carrying e-commerce goods, household items, and new energy vehicles. Its journey will take just 11 days and 19 hours, significantly reducing delivery time and boosting logistics efficiency. The "full timetable" service refers to freight trains that run on fixed schedules jointly agreed upon by railway authorities across all countries along the route. Each train operates with designated numbers, routes, and departure and arrival times, ensuring seamless coordination, faster customs clearance, and more reliable delivery. "The X8003 full timetable China-Europe freight train (Zhengzhou–Hamburg) operates once a week, achieving seamless coordination across all segments and better serving the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation," said Shao Dali, deputy director of the freight department in China Railway Zhengzhou Group. The China-Europe freight train service now operates over 1,000 trips annually on full timetable routes, connecting nine Chinese cities with six European destinations. Its ongoing optimization has improved efficiency and earned strong support from foreign trade firms. "Punctual departure, stable transit time, consistent cycle, and fixed dates – this saves us over 100 hours. The overall transport cycle is around 10 to 12 days, which also effectively reduces our international logistics costs," said Xu Zige, general manager of a Henan-based logistics company. As of June, cumulative departures of China-Europe freight trains have exceeded 110,000, reaching 229 cities in 26 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries. The total value of goods transported by the freight trains has exceeded 450 billion U.S. dollars. Shotlist: Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, central China - Nov 18, 2025: 1. Various of full timetable China-Europe freight train departing station, containers 2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Shao Dali, deputy director of freight department, China Railway Zhengzhou Group (ending with shot 3): "The X8003 full timetable China-Europe freight train (Zhengzhou-Hamburg) operates once a week, achieving seamless coordination across all segments and better serving the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation." 3. Various of freight train station FILE: China - Date Unknown: 4. Various of China-Europe freight trains running, railway station 5. Various of customs staff inspecting cargo 6. Various of railway station Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, central China - Nov 18, 2025: 7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Xu Zige, logistics company general manager (starting with shot 6/nding with shot 8): "Punctual departure, stable transit time, consistent cycle, and fixed dates - this saves us over 100 hours. The overall transport cycle is around 10 to 12 days, which also effectively reduces our international logistics costs." 8. Various of China-Europe freight train moving FILE: China - Date Unknown: 9. Various of China-Europe freight train moving [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]