The Euro-Asian Railway has begun its first trial run after a year's preparation. The train is expected to finish an 18-day journey covering China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany by the end of this month, a total distance of 10,000 kilometers.

The Euro-Asian Railway specializes in container transportation. When it is officially running, it will cut the time by half for Chinese cargo to arrive in Germany via train.

Zheng Mingli, the Chinese representative for the Euro-Asian Railway's container transportation department, says that the railway should be problem-free within a year of the trial run.

There are still some difficulties to overcome. Some countries have less-than-ideal reloading capabilities; and some have different customs system. Top officials from the Chinese Ministry of Railways are working together in Beijing to solve these problems and others to push forward the development of the Euro-Asian Railway.

People in charge of the railway project from the six participating countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing earlier this month, and reached agreement on how to deal with the above-mentioned problems.

Apart from the Euro-Asian Railway, China is also working hard on the Trans-Asian Railway. It starts in Kunming, a southwestern city in China, and goes through Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia until it reaches its final destination in Singapore. The total distance is 5,500 kilometers. Completing the Trans-Asian Railway is expected to tremendously boost mutual trade among the Asian countries on the rail line.

The Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun says the Ministry will try its best to ensure that the work on the Trans-Asian Railway will make actual progress this year. He adds that China will step up its effort to communicate and cooperate with the neighboring countries in hopes of quickening the development of the Trans-Asian Railway.

Liu Zhijun also says that the Ministry will continue to introduce foreign capital at a greater scale, and raise the level of efficiency for using the capital.