The Dongjia Railroad Freight Transportation Center in Jinan, Shandong province debuts its Eurasian freight train on May 18. [Photo by Liu Biao/jnnews.com]

The Dongjia Railroad Freight Transportation Center in Jinan, Shandong province unveiled its first Eurasian freight train on May 18, becoming the second station to operate the route in the city following the Jinan South Railway Station.

The train, operated by Shandong Hi-speed Group and loaded with automotive accessories produced by Sinotruk, departed from Dongjia station and traveled through Helgas port to Uzbekistan. The 12-day journey spanned more than 7,000 kilometers.

Launched in March, the Dongjia Railroad Freight Transportation Center serves as a comprehensive hub providing storage, transportation, distribution and logistics services.

The Jinan Eurasian freight train has been making significant contributions to the city's foreign trade. It made 171 trips this year, a year-on-year increase of 137.5 percent.

In the first quarter of this year, the city's imports and exports hit 28.08 billion yuan ($4.05 billion), a 20.7 percent year-on-year increase and 24.3 percentage points higher than the average rate of the province.