Poland sends first freight train from Warsaw to China

Keep our news free from ads and paywalls by making a donation to support our work!

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

A freight train carrying goods from several European countries has departed from Warsaw to China for the first time, in what Poland’s state rail freight operator, PKP Cargo, called a step that could “pave the way” for new trade links and boost economic growth.

Two more trains are scheduled in the coming weeks and regular services could follow if demand proves strong, PKP Cargo said. Although freight trains have previously run to China from Gdańsk and Małaszewicze, this is the first such service to depart from the Polish capital.

“In the past, freight to China was operated [from Poland], but never from the terminal in Warsaw,” the company told Notes from Poland.

The route is expected to transport a wide range of products, including furniture, ski equipment, footwear and playground gear, from Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Latvia.

The goods were delivered by lorry to Warsaw, loaded onto trains, and will reach China in less than two weeks. That makes it faster than sea transport, which has been disrupted by Yemeni Houthi militant attacks on cargo ships traveling between Europe and Asia via the Suez Canal and Red Sea.

Mateusz Izydorek vel Zydorek of PKP Cargo Connect told the Puls Biznesu business daily that the cargo will be reloaded onto broad gauge tracks at the Małaszewicze terminal in eastern Poland before continuing to China via Belarus and Russia. From Henan province, it will be distributed throughout China as well as to other Asian markets.

The Małaszewicze terminal is a European gateway to the so-called “New Silk Road”, which refers to an ancient trade route linking China and Europe and was in 2013 revived under China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”.

PKP Cargo said container trains from China have been arriving in Warsaw since 2016, with cooperation with Chinese logistics operator ZIH spanning nearly a decade.

“Today, after so many years, we are jointly creating the future of cooperation between our entities by sending European goods, including those manufactured in Poland, to China,” said Piotr Sadza, president of PKP Cargo Connect.

“Today’s event demonstrates the enormous potential for international cooperation. Joint infrastructure projects have a real impact on the economy, attract investors, and strengthen Poland’s position on the global trade map,” said Adam Struzik, governor of the Masovia province where Warsaw is located.

This is not the first rail freight service from Poland to China, as similar routes have in the past operated from other Polish terminals.

In 2019, Poland and China launched their first regular direct cargo train service, linking the Polish port city of Gdańsk to Xi’an, a city of 12 million in north-central China. In 2020, PKP Cargo Connect received approval to transport food to China from the Małaszewicze terminal.

Poland’s Railway Transport Office (UTK) said that in 2024 international rail freight in the country transported 79.2 million tonnes of goods, with exports accounting for 29.4 million tonnes.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: KUA YUE/Unsplash

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.