(Yicai Global) May 30 -- After nearly three months of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a China-Europe express freight train departed again from Shanghai and the service will return to normal operation as soon as possible, according to its operator.

A train named ‘Shanghai’ and carrying 49 containers left Minhang Railway Station for Rostov Oblast in Russia yesterday afternoon. The cargo is mainly machinery such as heaters and pressure controllers, weighing about 645 tons in total, Yicai Global learned from Shanghai Oriental Silk Road Multimodal Transport.

This is the first outbound train since the resurgence of Covid-19 in Shanghai in March. The last inbound train returned from Kazakhstan on May 2 with 43 containers carrying mainly non-ferrous raw materials.

“We've received seven orders for June,” a staff member told Yicai Global, adding that the operator is hoping to return to “normal levels” of service as soon as possible.

The train service covers three routes: one each to Europe, Russia and Central Asia. It is expected to start carrying more high-end consumer goods and instruments from Germany and minerals and agricultural produce from Central Asia to China in the future.

The China-Europe Railway Express, which refers to the international container trains running between China and European countries, had since its launch in 2011 made over 50,000 journeys as of January, arriving in 180 cities in 23 European countries.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Tom Litting