The first special freight train, which carries household appliances, left Lianjiang, a county-level city in Zhanjiang, for Chengdu on Nov 10.

The train has 10 carriages and was loaded with more than 5,000 small household appliances, including electric cookers, electric kettles and induction cookers. Its journey takes 72 hours from Zhanjiang to Chengdu.

Lianjiang is hailed as "the hometown of small household appliances in China". It produces 180 million household appliances every year. The products are sold to other cities and exported to foreign countries mainly via highways and waterways.

The high freight transport cost has become a bottleneck for further development of Lianjiang's household appliance industry. To solve the problem, local government reached a cooperation agreement with Nanning Railway Bureau, paving the way for railway transport scheme for household appliance enterprises.

"The special train not only diversified transport channels for household appliance enterprises, but also impacted on transport quantity and efficiency, and lowered transportation costs. It is of great significance for improving the competitiveness of Lianjiang's small home appliances," said Wu Qunzhong, mayor of Lianjiang city.

In the future, the special train is also planned to travel to destinations in North China, East China and Northeast China.

A special train is ready for departure in Lianjiang Railway Station on Nov 10. [Photo by Lin Shizhan]

The special train loaded with household appliances leaves for Chengdu in Lianjiang Railway Station on Nov 10. [Photo by Lin Shizhan]

Edited by Mevlut Katik