MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2023) The first cargo train from China arrived in Russia via a railway bridge over the Amur River, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Friday.
"The RDIF announces the arrival of the first cargo train from China to Russia via the railway bridge over the Amur River. The bridge connects a section of the interstate border between the settlements of Nizhneleninskoe in the Jewish Autonomous Region and Tongjiang in the Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China," the fund said in a statement.
Russia has exported a total of over 1.6 million tonnes of different cargoes to China through the bridge since the beginning of 2022. Checkpoints are now operating 24 hours a day, which allows for a significant increase in the frequency of train movements.
"Since the launch of the bridge in November 2022, the number of cargoes transported through the bridge has been growing continuously. In the near future, the railway corridor is expected to reach the projected load. This will stimulate the strengthening of relations between Russian and Chinese businesses in various sectors and provide for further investments," RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev was quoted as saying in the statement.
The construction of the bridge was a part of an agreement signed by Russia and China in 2008. The RDIF financed over 70% of the construction of the Russian part of the bridge. Russian economic development institution VEB.RF and the Russian Railways state company, along with many Chinese partners, have also invested in the bridge project.
The bridge section of the Tongjiang-Nizhneleninskoe railroad is 2.2 kilometers (1.36 miles) long and provides for in-turn passage of both Chinese and Russian standard trains. The maximum carrying capacity of the bridge is 20 million tonnes per year.
The opening of the bridge has created a new transport corridor between Russia and China, reducing the distance of cargo transportation to China's northern provinces by 700 kilometers. It will enable an increase in the exchange of goods between the countries and ensure the development of new projects in the Jewish Autonomous Region and Chinese border provinces.
