The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is bringing stability to people and trade routes, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Austrian Federal Railways (OeBB) has said.
Geopolitical conflicts and crises, which are harmful to rail transport and the economy, have made the BRI “even more important,” Andreas Matthae said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
As of Saturday, the total number of trips under the BRI flagship program — China-Europe freight train — has surpassed 90,000. This extensive network currently serves 223 cities in 25 European countries and over 100 cities in 11 Asian countries, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd..
Before the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted supply chains and rail transport between China and Europe, Matthae said OeBB had “good growth figures and high hopes that rail traffic would increase significantly.” The freight train service between Vienna and the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu was launched in 2018.
https://english.news.cn/20240528/d446b0b836314a69a2c194f2bfd6c097/c.html